Scars
by kallikat1
Summary: Scarlett Thatch is Jared's younger sister. A divorce between their parents when the children are young causes them to be separated. Scarlett's dislike of her mother grows throughout the years, causing her to rush back home to La Push the day she turns 18. She is troubled and anxious...along with the wolf who falls for her. Can they fight their demons together?
1. Chapter 1

· **I own nothing but Scarlett and her parents** **J** **Hope you like!**

October 18 – my birthday. Today was not just any birthday, though, it was my 18th birthday. Today is the day I have sworn most of my life that I would move away from my mother and her current boyfriend. My mother and I never had the best relationship from the start. I still remember the day she split from my father. I was 14, and my brother Jared was 16. We had been sitting in the living room watching Jeopardy (that was his favorite show…he was what some would consider nerdy), and then my father busted through the front door. I had never seen him so angry before. My mom trailed in behind him like a guilty puppy, her eyes filled to the brim with tears.

Jared and I stood up abruptly, as my dad pushed past us to stomp up the stairs. Jared did not give mom a second glance, and bolted up the stairs after him. I rushed over to mom, and placed my hands on her shoulders. She wouldn't make eye contact with me as I begged and begged to know what happened.

"Your father," She cried out.

"What? What is it Mom?" I asked, beginning to cry myself.

She looked at me solemnly then said, "He's leaving me. He doesn't love me anymore."

My heart felt like it was no longer beating and I felt like I had gotten the wind knocked out of me. I was quiet as I heard my dad slinging stuff around upstairs and Jared pleading with him to stop. My mom suddenly grabbed me and pulled me closer, still sobbing.

"Scarlett, you have to promise me something," She urged quietly.

"What, Mom?! Anything!" I said, agreeing to promise a little too quickly.

"I am moving. I am leaving… soon. Come with me. Please, hon, please, please, come with me. We can go wherever you want."

I just nodded my head, in shock. It was the middle of the summer so I knew I would not have to worry about missing school, or starting in the middle of the school year. If my parents were getting a divorce, it was obvious what would happen to Jared and me. We would be split as well. He naturally sided with my father, being closer with him. I naturally sided with my mom, her being my best friend at the time.

Soon after, I witnessed a house divided. Jared would look at me with anger in his eyes, because I chose Mom. I think at the time he felt as if I was abandoning him as well. Dad looked at me sadly, and that broke my heart. Mom and I packed our things quickly and quietly, and left as soon as they got the divorce finalized. We stayed with my grandma until then.

It was not until years later (when Jared and I started talking to each other again) that I found out that I made the wrong decision. Turns out, Dad didn't leave Mom because he "didn't love her". He left her because she didn't love him. He found out she had been cheating on him. When Jared ran upstairs that dreadful night, he found out the accurate story. I found out the made up story, and was manipulated by the person I looked up most to. My mother lied to me because she was a coward. She didn't want to end up alone.

The day when I found out, I was 16. My mother and I were residing in our quaint little home in Portland, Oregon. She had already had five different boyfriends since the split. And yes, they were all drunk pieces of shit.

That day was a blur. I remember throwing things. I remember slamming a door so hard it caused a mirror to fall off the wall and shatter. I remember telling her I hated her more than anyone and I remember slapping Joe (her boyfriend at the time) in the face for trying to interfere.

I stayed at my best friend's house for two weeks after that. When I finally came home, my mom had given up on trying to get my attention. She knew she was the worst thing to ever walk this earth for lying to me, and she knew I would never forgive her.

The following two years, our relationship was strained. At first, she tried to fix her wrongs by attempting to buy my affection. She bought me a car, didn't give me a curfew, and even took me to Europe. When she realized I had no interest in loving her, she turned into that embarrassing 40-year-old who has children but still stays out at the bars until 4 A.M. I turned into the typical edgy, rebellious teenager Portland could produce. I spent most of my nights at local bars as well, knowing the bouncers well enough to convince them to let me in. I only had older friends, and most of them bought me drinks and scored me backstage passes for the bands that would come to town.

I would stay out late and come home in the early hours of the morning, just to piss my mom off. Half the time I wasn't even doing anything rebellious, I would just sit in my car and read all night… just to worry her. Those were mostly failed attempts because even when I would get home at 6 A.M. on a school night, she would either be nowhere to be found, or passed out on the couch with a bottle of Jack by her feet.

The only bit of safe haven I possessed were my facetime calls with Jared and my dad. I planned on moving back to La Push, Washington, with him and my father on my 18th birthday. I watched my family grow throughout the years and it saddened me. Jared became much buffer, and looked like he could pass for 25. I noticed the grey hair in my father's beard, and I even noticed my grandparents appear to become weaker, and talk softer. What had happened to my family?

So, here I am today. It is my 18 birthday, and I have everything I own in the back of my light blue Fiat. I am on my way to La Push, and I didn't even tell my mother goodbye. I waited until she left for work, and left a note on the refrigerator. I hardly think that counts as a goodbye… but then again, I hardly think she deserves a goodbye.

The drive wasn't too long – only four hours. I spent most of it singing softly along to my playlists on my phone, and the remainder of it quiet, and in my own thoughts. I never thought this day would approach. I had butterflies in my stomach and my legs were shaking. I was a very anxious person.

What if nobody remembered me? Or even worse – what if they did? What if they remembered me as the chunky little girl with only one friend, and who never left her house? Or the girl who was not picked on, but simply left out? No one really had an interest in being my friend besides my childhood best friend, Sam. She was somewhat of a loner, as well. She and Jared were my only two friends.

I'd like to say I'm very different from who I was when I was fourteen. But then again, aren't we all? My dark brown hair had finally grown past my shoulders, and was now fell loosely down to the middle of my ribcage. I had lost my baby fat and grown a couple inches. I was curvy, but not too curvy. I wouldn't say I was the most beautiful girl on the block, but I wasn't the most unattractive, either.

My attitude was what had changed the most. Don't get me wrong, the gut-wrenching anxiety was still alive and well – I just knew how to hide it better now. My dorky smile had turned softer, and appeared less often. My shyness had turned into assertiveness. My welcoming attitude had kind of transformed into an icy cold front. Living in La Push, years ago, I remember always being happy. Now, I just always feel sort of numb. Does that make sense? I laugh at jokes and have fun, (I don't necessarily search for negativity), but I don't go out of my way looking for happiness, either.

As I finally entered La Push, nostalgia hit me like a brick. I glanced into yards and saw little boys and girls with dark hair running and playing in their yards, as their parents watched lovingly from their front porches. To be honest, I don't know if that's what was making me queasy, or if it was just nerves. I think it was a little bit of both.

My head started to feel funny as soon as I pulled into the all too familiar, tiny brick house's driveway. I turned the car off and tried to even my breathing. When that didn't help, I placed my head into my lap and counted to fifty. By time I was finished, my heart was beating a teensy bit slower.

I opened the car door and let my feet hit the ground. I shut the door and didn't bother locking the car, knowing that Jared would run out the instant he knew I was here to grab my bags. I stepped onto the wooden porch and appreciated the sound of the boards creaking beneath me – I had missed even tiny things such as that. I approached the door slowly and knocked softly.

Before I had the chance to knock a third time, the door was flung open and before me was my ginormous, dark haired, and dark eyed brother. When I say ginormous, I mean ginormous. He was well over 6 feet tall and his muscles looked as if he hadn't missed a day in the gym since I left town. Honestly, he reminded me of a very less-green Hulk.

He wrapped his arms around me and heaved me up into the air, squeezing what little bit of breath I had in me all the way out.

"Scarlett! Scar! S! Baby sis! Shrimp! Little kid!" He yelled exuberantly, causing me to laugh at my childhood nicknames.

I hugged him tightly and didn't have the chance to say anything before I heard my dad walk up behind us and chuckle.

"Jare, come on," He urged jokingly. "You're gonna scare her off. Put her down."

He sighed and put me down easily. I pushed past him and rushed into my dad's arms. I squeezed him almost as hard as Jared squeezed me and I heard him breathe what sounded like a sigh of relief. He pulled back a little and stared at me with a grin.

"I'm so glad you're back. We have missed you so much. You're beautiful, Scar," He said affectionately.

I smiled back at him and laughed a little. "Thanks, Pops, I've missed you all too."

Jared interrupted our heartfelt moment, busting with excitement. "Now come on, you two! Dad, we have to take her back to Sam and Emily's! Everybody is so stoked to meet you."

"Everyone?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes!" He exclaimed. "I've made somewhat of a second family since you've been gone. You have really missed out, Sis. But soon they'll be like a second family to you, also. It's some of the boys from school, and a couple of the guys that were a few years older than us so you probably haven't met them."

I started fidgeting with the bottom of my jacket, secretly growing a bit nervous. "Well, do I know any of them?"

I saw my dad glance at my hands and then he put a hand on my shoulder. He intervened then, saying, "Well sure you will, Scarlett. You remember Paul, don't you?"

I racked my brain and then remembered. "Oh yeah, I do, I think. He was one of your friends from middle school, right? He was always over here, if I remember correctly."

Jared smiled and nodded. "And Jake, Quil, and Embry are a year older than you. Do you remember them?"

I felt like I was being treated as if I had amnesia and had to stifle back a laugh. Even though the only one I remembered clearly was Jake, I nodded again. "Yeah, sure. I remember them."

"Well then see, you have nothing to worry about." He said confidently.

I mumbled a "Sure," back at him as we headed out to my car to retrieve all of my belongings. We took everything up to my old room, and I was pleasantly surprised to see not a thing had changed since the night I left.

My turquoise walls were extra inviting and my bed was screaming to be jumped into. But, as I was rushed down the steps and squeezed into Jared's Ford Focus, I knew a nap probably was not going to happen today.

We drove a quick five minutes and then pulled into a gravel driveway. The house was off by itself, a little way into the forest, and there were cars everywhere. I rolled my eyes at the thought of there being several people here, waiting on my arrival. Especially ones I don't remember, and don't know.

I calmed my nerves the best I could and followed behind my father and Jared as we approached the front door. I heard music coming from the inside and loud chatter. What was Jared dragging me into? He knew I despised social events… especially ones revolved around me. I didn't like attention. And frankly, I didn't like fake being nice to strangers.

Jared turned around and smiled cheekily at me as he placed his hand on the door knob. My dad gave my shoulder a reassuring pat and I tried to keep from frowning as I felt my knees wobble.

"You ready?" Jared asked enthusiastically.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I mumbled sarcastically and inwardly groaning.


	2. Chapter 2

**By the way, in this story Paul is dating Rebecca, but never imprinted on her!**

Jared pushed open the front door, and my dad and I followed closely behind him. The loud chatter abruptly came to a stop, and everyone's eyes were soon on me. The quietness seemed to last for what felt like years before a beautiful, dark haired woman pushed past a couple of the people to pull Jared into a welcoming embrace. After she let him go, she turned towards me and I couldn't help but notice the deep scars that ran down the side of her face and trailed down onto her neck. I quickly averted my eyes when she addressed me.

"You must be Scarlett," She said, pulling me into a quick hug. "We have heard so much about you. My name is Emily, and this is my husband, Sam." She placed her hand on the man beside her, who was equally as buff, if not buffer, than Jared.

I forced a smile and replied, "Hi, lovely meeting you."

I glanced around the room and was in shock by what my eyes were taking in. There were five other men who appeared to be giants as well. Did La Push have some weird workout club going on? Report to the gym or you don't get dinner tonight? I couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Jared led me past Sam and Emily to the dining room table they were all crowded around.

"Scar, this is Jacob, Embry, Quil, Seth, and Paul." He said, motioning towards each one of them individually.

I smiled and nodded at each one of them individually, and was about to give a "Nice to meet you," until my eyes landed on the one on the end. Paul, if I remembered correctly. This was my brother's best friend, the one who used to play hide and seek with us, and the one who seemed to live at my house for a couple of years. I hadn't made eye contact with him yet, knowing by the glimpse I got earlier that he was by far the most attractive there. The most attractive man I had ever seen, I think.

I hadn't made eye contact with him yet because instead of my eyes landing on his face, they landed on the girl's face who was sitting in his lap. She had light brown wavy hair and chocolate eyes. She had tanned skin and freckles peppered over her nose. She was pretty.

"Hi, I am Rebecca. I'm Jacob's older sister, and Paul's girlfriend," She said grinning, and holding out her hand.

I gave her a shy (I was feeling somewhat disappointed) smile and shook her hand. That's when I glanced upwards of her shoulder and made eye contact with him. He was nothing short of beautiful, and he sent off nothing but a mysterious aura. His hair was unkempt and I was dying to run my fingers through it. He had the slightest bit of stubble on his chin, causing him to appear older than he was. His baby blue shirt hung tightly around his chest, emphasizing his muscle tone. I had never looked at a boy and felt this kind of reaction before. I don't even know if I have given a boy a second look before. Was I going insane?

My glance hesitated on his chest, then my eyes hovered over his lips, then to his nose, and then finally, his eyes. He had emerald eyes, like me. They reminded me of the forest we were surrounded by. Green is my favorite color, and the forest is my favorite place. His eyes felt like home.

He tilted his head a little as he gazed back into my eyes, and I felt like I was dreaming. Neither one of us said a word, and the entire room was quiet. Too quiet. He didn't tear his gaze from mine as I noticed his jaw went a bit slack. I couldn't pull my eyes off of his as I watched shock, and a bit of something that looked like anger eventually flash over his face.

I felt Jared's body tense beside me and I saw Rebecca look wildly around the room, noticing everyone's attention was on us. I heard someone clear their throat and Paul stood up quickly, causing Rebecca to stumble off his lap.

I snapped out of my dreamy daze and backed up, into Jared. I felt his chest vibrate a little and it sounded as if a soft growl came out of his lips.

"Paul, come with me outside." He said shortly. "I think there may be something wrong with my motor and I was wondering if you could take a look at it."

His voice seemed to cut the air like a knife and I watched Paul clench his jaw, and I tried not to notice my knees growing weak as I watched. Paul pushed past Jared and out the front door, slammed it behind him. Jared followed closely behind.

No one had spoken yet, and I could feel Rebecca's glare burning into me. Had I done something wrong?

Seth was the first one to speak up and I could have sworn I heard someone breathe a sigh of relief when he did.

"So, Scarlett, have you been down to First Beach since you have been back?"

"No, not yet," I replied softly. "I actually just got back an hour or so ago."

Emily laughed melodically and intervened, "An hour ago? And they already dragged you out of the house? Sounds just like Jared and your father. Always in a rush," She shook her head and scolded my father jokingly. "Should have given the poor girl some time to rest."

My father winked at me and said, "She knows there's no resting in my house."

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "Absolutely not."

"Well, Seth, the lasagna has about thirty more minutes in the oven until it will be finished baking. Why don't you take Scarlett down to the beach for a bit?" Emily suggested.

I looked at him nervously, not wanting him to regret speaking up about the beach. I didn't want him to feel obligated to escort me around to waste some time.

I was expecting to see a hesitant look on his face, but I was actually greeted with the complete opposite. He was grinning from ear to ear and said excitedly, "Sure I will! That is, if you want. I know this house can feel a bit suffocating at times." He joked.

Quil elbowed him in the side. "Only thing that can feel suffocating around here is you and your bad jokes."

Everyone laughed and Seth looked the slightest bit embarrassed. I guessed that Seth had a bad reputation for being the cheesy joke guy.

"Come on, we can walk there from here," Seth said to me, standing up. "It's not too long of a walk and the weather isn't too bad today."

I was happy to follow him outside, too eager to get out of the weird atmosphere inside of the house. They were nice people, but I had no clue why it was so tense and awkward, but I was not a fan of it.

We made our way onto the porch and what we saw in front of us was not a pleasant sight. Jared and Paul looked downright outraged at each other and seemed to be in a heated argument.

I heard Seth mumble an "Oh shit," under his breath as he raced back into the house. I stood there, shocked, as I saw Paul shove Jared and send him flying backwards.

"It's not my fault," He roared. "You know I can't help it. You think I want this?" He yelled furiously.

"I don't care what you want, it's not happening regardless!" Jared screamed back.

Paul began to tremble and got closer to Jared. I sensed he was going to hurt Jared terribly so I went running down the steps and off the porch, into the yard beside the both of them.

Deciding that I wouldn't let Paul beat Jared to a pulp, I quickly intervened without thinking.

"Hey!" I called out, using my best assertive voice. "Cut it out, what the hells the matter with the two of you? I thought you were best friends?" I accused, angrily.

Jared looked at me with a frightening look and Paul was still trembling, looking past me, sending a murderous look at Jared.

"Scar, go back in the house." Jared muttered through clenched teeth.

I looked at him onerously and spit out a sarcastic laugh. "No." I said defiantly.

"Same old Scarlett," Jared mumbled, his words dripped with anger.

"Jared, you better get her out of the way," Paul said with a trembling voice. "I mean it, Jared! Get her out of the way!" He roared again, scaring me a little. I was shaking myself now, but trying my best to hide it.

Before Jared or I had the chance to respond, the front door flew open and my dad and the rest of the boys came flying out of it. Sam collided into Paul screaming incoherent words, dragging Paul around to the back of the house. I barely made out a "You can't ruin this," and a, "Don't be this stupid," come from Sam's mouth. The rest I couldn't even comprehend.

Jared stormed past all of us and into the woods. I guess he needed time to calm down. What could have caused this? I was completely dumbfounded.

I could tell how embarrassed Emily was by the look of pity on her face. The boys all appeared to be filled with unease and I even caught Jake massaging his temples. I glanced at the flutter of a curtain in the front window and caught Rebecca spying out from behind it.

My dad came up behind me and put his arms around me. "Listen to me, Scarlett. Don't do that again. Do not get in between anyone when they are about to fight? Are you listening? Especially not Paul."

I nodded at him and didn't say a word. To be honest, I wasn't listening. I was still trying to piece together what had just occurred.

What could possibly make them mad enough to almost hurt me in the process? I have never seen Jared act like that before. It frightened me.

Everyone eventually retreated back to the house, leaving Seth and I on the porch still.

"You still up for the beach?" He asked, half-heartedly. I could tell he was trying his best to lighten up the mood. He seemed like an alright guy.

I smiled politely at him and replied, "Yeah, sure. That would be great, actually."

He smiled at me sympathetically and nodded his head towards the road. "Come on, then," He said.

We were quiet on our walk there, but it was not awkward. I think we were both just too busy pondering other things. I was thinking about how my mom probably would be arriving home from work soon. How she would come inside, notice my car was gone, and assume I was at one of my friend's, or maybe work. She would come into the kitchen, wondering what she would make for dinner. She would have an idea of something and heads towards the fridge to make sure she had bought it at the store the week before.

Then, she would read the note I left her. The one that read, "Mom, I am leaving. Don't come looking. I need escape. Maybe after I am gone you will find the love you used to have, but decided to let go. Until we meet again."

It pained me, a little, to think of leaving my mom alone. I didn't expect to feel this way, but I could barely help it. I loved her - just not enough to take care of her. I was the child. Why wasn't I being taken care of? We had just made it to the beach and we were making our way closer to the water.

Seth interrupted my pitiful train of thought by saying, "So, are you happy?"

I whipped my head around to look at him, surprised by his straight-forwardness. No one had ever asked me that before.

"What?" I asked, confused.

He looked a tad taken back by my reaction and stuttered a bit, "Uh, I-I, mean, like, happy you moved back here?"

I laughed awkwardly. "Um, yeah. Really happy, actually. I've missed this place quite a bit. Portland was cool and all, but didn't really compare. I missed the homey feel of this place."

"Yeah, I bet. I couldn't imagine ever having to leave here." He said staring at the ocean, in a daze.

We walked a little further and eventually plopped down in the sand, on a blanket Seth had brought. I told Seth a little more about Portland and how I had spent the last few years there. I told him about my two best friends, who were also my neighbors. I never understood how I lucked into that.

He told me everything I had missed in La Push (I was not shocked to find out it wasn't much), and we laughed at old stories of Jared. I enjoyed his company.

We were silent for a couple minutes, appreciating the blissful moment the waves were bringing us. Then my stomach rumbled, growling like thunder. I felt my cheeks turn pink at the embarrassing noise, and Seth chuckled.

"Want to head back and get our hands on that lasagna?" He suggested.

I smiled at the thought of hot food and happily agreed.

As we made our way back, I couldn't help but ask Seth the question that had been burning on my mind the entire afternoon.

"So, Seth," I started. "What was up with Paul earlier?"

"What do you mean?" He asked quietly.

I could tell he was playing dumb on purpose.

"Well, when he looked at me, he acted like he saw a ghost. Then Jared became so angry and rushed him outside, and everyone was acting so strange…"

Seth cut me off then. "Look, Scarlett, that's just Paul. You'll learn that soon enough. I don't think it had anything to do with you, so don't worry. Him and Jared get into brawls all the time. Seriously, don't sweat it. It's no big deal." He told me, quickly.

I rolled my eyes and didn't answer back. We were quiet the rest of the walk back and made our way into the house. There was laughter and chatter, and the atmosphere didn't seem tense anymore.

We were welcomed back warmly by everyone – well, almost everyone.

Paul was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I've decided to pick back up on this story. I've missed fanfic loads, and randomly remembered that I abandoned this one a while ago. And I love Paul way too much to do that to him ;) Tell me what you think, and I hope you enjoy! xoxo**

Seth and I made our way through the house, the smell of lasagna coursing through our nostrils. Seth made a beeline for the kitchen, but I found my way to my dad. He was sitting on the back porch with most of the guys, and they seemed to be chatting about nothing in particular.

I approached my father and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, pops."

"Well hey Scar, welcome back! How was the beach?" He asked, pulling me forward and down onto his lap.

I laughed at this, feeling like a little kid again. "Dad, I'm not 8 anymore! I'm far too big to be on your lap."

"Oh nonsense, you'll always be my little girl," He said with a hearty smile, ruffling my hair. I started to reply, but then saw Jared walking around the side of the house.

"Hey Dad, I'll be right back," I said hurriedly, jumping off his lap. I noticed Jacob's dad, Billy, shoot an uneasy glare at my father. What is up with these weird people and their behaviors?

I shook off the weird, silent interaction and jogged down the porch steps.

"Jare!" I called, trailing behind him towards the road. He seemed to be headed towards his car.

He kept walking, completely ignoring me. What the hell? "Jared!" I yelled again, this time skipping the nickname.

He had made it to his car, and placed his hand on the door handle. I finally reached him and slapped him lightly on the back. "Jared, why are you ignoring me?" I asked him, slightly hurt and definitely confused.

He didn't make eye contact with me. "I'm going home, Scarlett. I've got some stuff to do."

"Like what?" I asked him, growing very annoyed, very fast.

"Like, stuff," He said shortly, and turning to open his car door.

I slammed the door back shut and stepped in front of him. "What the hell is wrong with you? I don't know what happened between you and Paul, but it'd be awesome if you didn't take it out on me. I didn't come back home to return to this." I said through gritted teeth.

Jared hesitated before he replied, and finally made eye contact with me. When he saw the confusion behind me angry eyes, I saw his own soften. His shoulders slumped a bit and he put his car keys back into his jean pocket. "I'm sorry, Scar. You being back has just brought a lot of emotion to the table. I'll stay. I'm sorry."

I raised an eyebrow at him, not knowing what that translated to. I didn't question it. "Well, good. You brought me around your nutcase, hot-headed friends, so I was hoping the least you could do was stay here with me," I joked.

Jared let a laugh escape his lips and threw one arm around my shoulder. The weight was almost crushing. "You haven't seen crazy yet, Scar," He said ominously. Before I could question him, he added, "Let's get you some food. You're hungry."

"I'm perfectly fine, actually," I said a matter-of-factly. Jared looked at me suspiciously, and almost right on cue, my stomach let out a monstrous rumble.

"Okay, okay, you win," I said quickly, laughing alongside of him, and letting him steer me inside. I had missed my brother so much it physically hurt. He was my best friend for so many years, and to have him ripped away from me for so long felt like having my very own roots ripped from the earth. I finally felt at home again.

We pushed through the screen door and made our way into the kitchen. Jared got me a plate of lasagna, way too much for my comfort level, and lead me into the dining room. I chit chatted with Emily and Seth for quite some time, telling them about my life at home. Well, life at home, minus my unreliable mom, her disgusting boyfriends, my curfew problems and underage drinking habits. My brother and father had no idea the trouble I had gotten into at home, but for one reason: I never really got into trouble, because my mom never gave a shit. Staying out late, partying every now and then, and ending up in sticky situations came pretty easily to me. Not that that was what I ever wanted for myself – it just kind of happened.

Speaking of alcohol, I could _really_ go for a shot of whiskey right about now. I heard the screen door open behind me, and automatically felt the atmosphere grow cold. I turned around to see a very red-faced Rebecca, who seemed to be shooting ice right out of her eyes, and right through me. Yeah, I definitely needed a shot.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as she seemed to be making her way right towards me. Emily very obviously cleared her throat beside me, and Seth's sister rose out of her seat abruptly and collided right into Rebecca.

"Hey, Rebecca! I totally forgot to show you this new book I got. You've got to see it! It's in my car, come on," She said quickly, grabbing her arm and pulling her the other way. Seth looked like he had seen a ghost, and Emily was quiet.

"You finished, Scarlett? I'll take your plate to the kitchen," Emily said finally, breaking the silence.

I shook my head, but didn't say a word. Everyone was finally back in the small home now, minus Paul and Rebecca. If I had to place my bets on it, I would say the couple was having some issues. But why? And why did Rebecca seem to be charging directly at me? And why did one look into Paul's eyes piss him off _so_ bad?

I was so overwhelmed, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I stood up, causing my chair to scrape the floor and of course, my luck, cause everyone to turn their head at me.

"Um, I'm going to step out for a minute. I'd like some fresh air," I said quickly, pushing past Jared.

I heard some shuffling behind me, and heard my dad say, "No, leave her."

I was assuming Jared was trying to come after me, but I was super glad that my dad stopped him. I could do without the pushy "What's wrong?" conversation right now. I was leaving this shit show of a "party" and walking home, and that was that. They would notice soon enough, and hopefully I would be home and in bed by the time that they did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, I know this is a short chapter, but currently I'm just trying to get back into the swing of everything and grab a nice hold onto where I want this story to go. Let me know what you guys think!**

The next morning, I woke up to rain. Lots of it. I didn't hear my dad or Jared come home last night, but I was assuming they had been out late by the quietness of our home. They must have still been sleeping. It was already 10 am, and that seemed unusual of my dad to sleep that long. It was Saturday, though, so maybe they used Saturdays as a day to not leave bed. I didn't blame them.

I rolled out of bed, stretching my arms to the sky and yawning. Walking past my reflection, I paused and stared for a moment. I looked tired – no, I actually looked border line sleep deprived. The bags under my eyes were prominent, and my hair was shooting all in different directions. My eyes looked hollow and my shoulders seemed somewhat bonier than usual. Had the stress of leaving my mom really affected me this much?

I sighed at myself, and wrapped my satin robe a little tighter. I trotted down the steps and padded across the kitchen tile lightly over to the coffee pot. I inwardly felt relief just by catching sight of the pot. Coffee was my savior, forever and always. Its warmness was always there for me when the rest of the world had seemed to gone cold.

I stared out the window above the kitchen sink while the coffee brewed, admiring the scenery. I didn't mind the rain all that much, in a way it comforted me. It had a way of making me feel like it was cleansing the world of all bad, even though I knew that was silly. I had missed mornings like this. Easy mornings, ones without seeing my mom passed out on the couch and running into a shirtless stranger in the hall way on my way to the kitchen.

I poured myself a cup of Joe, and made my way into the living room. My eyes lit up when I noticed my dad still had our old record player. We used to dance in the living room when I was little to everything from Elvis to reggae, and everything in between. I got underneath the shelf the record player was on and my fingertips landed on a record with Mr. Presley himself on the front of it. Smiling at the memory of my dad serenading me when I was a child, I put the vinyl on the player.

Can't Help Falling in Love was the first song that came on, and I felt my heart quicken a bit. This would always be one of my favorite songs. I mindlessly began to hum along, dancing slowly with my cup of coffee, forgetting where I was. My soft humming turned into singing, and this moment felt like magic. I could only imagine what I looked like.

Just then, I heard shuffling on the porch, and then a soft knock at the door. Without thinking, I opened the door, mid-chorus, still singing softly. When I realized who was behind the door, and who had probably seen me twirling through the window, my heart skipped a beat.

Of course, it was Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.

My eyes met his and my legs felt funny. My lips parted a little, unsure of what to say for the first moment or so. I couldn't seem to tear my eyes from his, or move a muscle. What was wrong with me?

At last, Paul tore his eyes away from mine, and tensed his jaw, but in the slightest way possible. I didn't miss it. His palms were clenched, and he wouldn't meet my gaze. I fumbled nervously with my robe, pulling it a little tighter.

"Is Jared here?" He asked, still refusing to meet my gaze.

Before I had the chance to reply, I heard thumping coming down the steps. It was Jared. He came behind me, and place a hand lightly on my back. "Paul," He said without emotion, nodding his head.

Paul's next words seemed unnaturally heavy, and forced. "Do you think we could talk?" He asked my brother.

Jared gave a quick nod, and sighed. "I'll be right behind you."

Paul turned quickly, and made his way off the porch. What was with this guy?

Jared still loomed over me, and then kissed the top of my head. I still couldn't get used to how tall he was. "Morning baby sis, you still look beautiful in the morning, and your singing still sounds beautiful in the morning," He said with a grin and a wink, shutting the front door behind him.

I laughed lightly at this. "Shit," I whispered under my breath. They could hear me! My cheeks flushed red in embarrassment, even though I was alone. Oh well, I decided. I wasn't a bad singer by any means, I actually loved it – just one who would prefer to do it without an audience.

After this, I sat in the living room chair for a bit while finishing my coffee. I still had no idea where my dad was, but I assumed he had went fishing, or it was one of those weird weekends where he had to work a shift.

I finally decided I couldn't sit in my pajamas all day, so I trudged upstairs and took a long, scalding hot shower. I brushed my teeth, tamed my long, dark hair, and put some normal clothes on. I felt like an entirely new person.

I planned on spending the remainder of my morning (what little was left of it) at the beach with a blanket, my headphones, and my journal. I was just as big into writing as I was singing. It sounded like the perfect plan to me, and I was giddy just at the thought of scrawling my thoughts down next to the ocean. The rain had let up, but the dark clouds still loomed over La Push. I didn't mind one bit though, I liked dark atmospheres.

As I was heading out the front door, I ran smack dab into Jared. "Hey, Scar, where are you headed to?"

"Oh, I'm just going down to the beach to write some," I answered.

Jared seemed a little uneasy at this. "Why don't you just stay here and write? Writing is writing," He replied, adding a short laugh after.

I rolled my eyes at him, ignoring this and pushing past him. "Jare, if you think writing at home is the same as writing next to the ocean, then I've already diagnosed you as border line crazy."

For a second I think he debated arguing this. Knowing he would lose, he chose to let this one go. My family quickly learned that you must pick and choose your battles with me. I don't throw in the towel easily. "Okay, Scar, just be careful."

I laughed at him and shot a ridiculous look at him. "Okay, Dad!" I yelled back at him, waving him off.

Remembering the path to First Beach all too well, I made it there in under ten minutes. Living close to the ocean was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I spent countless nights here, under the stars. I couldn't wait to again.

I laid out my blanket in the sand and plopped down, completely content with my spot. I opened up my journal and let out everything on my mind. Everything from how hungry I was, to how weird everyone around here seemed to be acting around me. The weird looks, Rebecca's hateful eyes, and Paul's standoffish front. All of it.

Not realizing how much time had passed, I was surprised to see an hour had already gone by. I could have stayed there forever, but I decided to make my way back home to see Dad. I missed him. After shaking the sand from my blanket, I decided to wrap myself in it to fight the cold. The temperature seemed to drop drastically enough to cause my teeth to chatter.

Walking back up to the road, I saw a sight that caused me to stop directly in my tracks. Before me was the shit show of all shit shows. Paul and Rebecca seemed to be standing at the beach's entrance, where the sand meets the sidewalk, having quite the fight. Rebecca was having a complete breakdown, screaming through her tears. Paul's eyes were sad as he reached out a hand to place on her arm. She quickly swatted it away and hit him in the chest.

Damn, I thought to myself. What did he do to her? I tried to be as quiet as possible, not drawing any attention to myself. Not that it was my fault they decided to quarrel right in the middle of the open, though. That's when Paul's eyes met mine. And what do you know, my knees seemed to turn to jello.

"You aren't even listening to me!" I heard Rebecca yell, slapping him again.

Paul still hadn't torn his eyes from mine. His face showed a mixture of emotion. There was anger, there was sadness, and there seemed to be a hint of softness. That's when Rebecca followed his gaze to meet mine.

She scoffed through her tear-filled eyes. "Oh, great, here _she_ is now," She said, her words dripping with ice.

Every bit of softness in Paul's disappeared and he abruptly turned away from both of us. "I can't do this," He muttered.

Rebecca took a couple of steps towards me and through her hands wildly into the air. "Great!" She screamed. "I hope you're happy!"

And with those cryptic words, she turned and started running after Paul.


	5. Chapter 5

I walked home slowly, my stomach in knots and feeling a bit nauseous. I couldn't understand how I had only been here for such a short amount of time and everything already felt so wrong.

Half way through my walk home, I felt a drop of rain on my scalp. At this point, I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself. I was absolutely drenched by the time I finally made it onto my porch, and I took a deep breath in when I saw more than two heads through our front window. I counted four more heads on top of Jared's and my dad's. The last thing I wanted to do right now was deal with company.

I creaked the front door open leading into the hallway slowly, hoping none of them would hear me and I could sneak up to a hot bath upstairs. I didn't even get one foot through the door when I heard Jared's loud, booming voice.

"Scaaaaar!" He yelled happily, coming around the corner and throwing a heavy arm around my shoulders.

"Hey Jare," I mumbled, knowing he was unaware of my miserable mood.

"Come hang out with us," He said, pulling my arm down the hall and into the living room.

We stepped into the living room and I quickly glanced at the scene in front of me. There was Kim, Jared's girlfriend, Embry, Quil, and…Paul. My eyes locked with his and my heart started to rapidly speed up, and I felt like it was going to fly out of my body. My chest tightened, giving me the sensation that I was unable to breathe. I swear I was going to forget how to. Paul smiled at me softly, _very_ softly, and looked at me quizzically. This caused me to panic more.

The tightness in my chest was rising to my throat, and it felt like smoke rising, stealing every breath I had right from underneath me. Shit, it's happening again. I had been plagued with major, I mean major anxiety ever since I could remember. And I've never had a hold on it.

Paul wasn't helping, not one single bit. Why was he here? Rachel's going to murder me. Was he mad at me for what happened earlier? Did I somehow play a part in the downfall of whatever they had between each other? And why the hell was everyone looking at me so funny?

Backing up slowly, refusing to make eye contact with Paul, I placed a hand lightly on my stomach and made eye contact with Jared. "Um, Jare, I'm gonna go upstairs. I don't feel well. Maybe something I ate?" I muttered to myself, playing it up. "I'm gonna head up, just feel sick," I said between deep breaths, knowing I wasn't making any kind of sense.

Jared's eyes were full with concern, but I knew he knew exactly what was going on. He just hadn't seen it since we were kids. And then, it wasn't as bad as it was now. Paul's eyes watching me like a hawk was too much. I left the room abruptly, treading up the stairs to my room and shutting the door softly behind me. Slumping my back all the way down the door until I was sitting on the floor, I put my head in my hands.

"It's nothing, it's nothing, chill. Just chill out Scar. Stop acting like a freak. Calm the hell down." I whispered frantically to myself, over and over again.

I didn't know what set my anxiety off. Actually, I did. Stupid Paul. It always came out of nowhere. The loud thoughts were never-ending, and I was always in a war with my mind. It was just something that would happen.

I would get nervous, usually over nothing that was _that_ big of a deal. And then my heart would begin to race. And then I would feel like I was losing control of my breath. And then I would feel like I couldn't breathe. And then I couldn't think about anything else, except for losing my ability to breathe. And then this feeling, this feeling of constriction would raise from my chest, to my throat. And then panic would fill my entire body – all the way to my toes.

This was my one downfall. My anxiety. It was the only thing that had stayed consistent my entire life, the only thing I knew I could count on to never leave my side. And it sucked. It sucked hard.

A few minutes later, I was still taking short, rapid breaths, but they were concentrated. I was making the calls with how I was breathing. I was purposely breathing short and rapid, and this began to slow my heart rate – knowing I was in control again. I inhaled deeply, feeling like I couldn't get a deep enough breath in. I was okay. Shaken, but okay.

I stood up, slowly, and made my way into the bathroom. I felt like a nut case up here, hiding away from Jared's friends, but I just couldn't make myself go downstairs and be around _him._ I felt so strange around Paul, and I couldn't stand it. As much as I wanted to run from him downstairs, I also wanted to run to him. I didn't panic because he frightened me – quite the opposite actually. Locking eyes with his big, brown eyes filled my entire body with warmth. And it shouldn't have.

I don't know him; I don't know him at all. All I know is that the first time he saw me, he was angry. He was very angry. His girlfriend hated me, for whatever reason. I felt like I was in some kind of time warp, where everyone already knew me, and I knew nothing about anyone else. If he didn't like me so much, and his girlfriend hated me, why was he in my house? And why did he smile at me?

Sinking down into the scorching hot water, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The water stung my skin and caused a soft breath to escape my lips in surprise, but the stinging felt nice. Pain felt nice. It felt nice to feel something besides worry, and also, it distracted my mind.

I grabbed my phone and turned on Lana Del Rey, and hit shuffle. I needed to hear someone else's words in my head. I wanted nothing to do with my thoughts.

I sang along softly for a while, basking in the comfort the tub was bringing me. I hadn't taken a bath in this tub for years, and if I could've, I wouldn't have moved for the rest of the night. It felt too familiar – too cozy.

I was in my own world, my pointer finger mindlessly twirling a piece of my long, brown hair as my shoulders rested against the back of the tub, humming quietly. Then I heard a light knock on the door.

"Um, Scarlett? Hey, it's Kim. Jared sent me up here to see if you wanted to watch Jeepers Creepers and eat some popcorn with us. He said it was your favorite," She said, sounding hesitant and muffled through the door.

A smile touched my lips, knowing that Jared hadn't forgotten my favorite movie from when we were kids. It quickly disappeared, remembering that that was only my favorite movie because it was my mom's, also.

I sat up, and hugged my knees to my chest. "Yeah, Kim, tell him to give me fifteen minutes and I'll be down."

I could hear the smile in her voice. "Okay, Scar."

I stepped out of the tub, taking my time drying myself off. Walking back to my room, I braided my long hair loosely and threw on a baggy tee shirt with some leggings, not forgetting to put my favorite bear feet slippers on.

I still felt a little queasy to be around Paul, but nothing like before. I had several long moments to prepare myself for him being downstairs. It was when I walked into a surprise, completely unprepared when my anxiety grabbed me by the throat.

I walked down the steps into the living room to a sight that caused my stomach to flip. The only person in the room was Paul, and he was looking at me funny – almost apologetically. But that was crazy, because he had nothing to be sorry for.

I brushed it off and asked him quietly, not making eye contact, "Where is everyone?"

He stood up quickly and put his hands in his pockets. I couldn't stop staring at the way his light blue tee shirt hugged the muscles in his chest, and his arms. And the way it looked so nice with his tan skin. I felt like an idiot.

"Um, they stepped out back on the porch. Too many mosquitoes out there for me, though," He said with a short laugh. This was the most words I had heard him speak the entire time I had been here. His voice made my insides melt a little. Okay, that was it. I officially hated myself.

"Oh, okay. I'll go get them," I replied, as I started towards the hallway.

"Scarlett?" He asked me, sounding a bit nervous.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay? I mean, are you feeling better?"

This stopped me dead in my tracks. Great. He was totally onto me. But why did he care?

I turned my head around and finally met his eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay. No worries."

He smiled slightly and nodded. "Good."

I bit my lip and nodded at him, too. "I'll uh, be right back," I stammered.

Not giving him the chance to reply, I exited the room and made my way to the kitchen. Before I opened the back door and called for the rest of the group, I grabbed a quick glass of water. I seriously needed to calm down.

Opening the fridge, my eyes landed on a bottle of vodka. My fingers itched to grab it, just as I would back at Mom's when I would get worked up. I picked the bottle up, analyzing it. Then I saw Jared's eyes watching me through the window.

Heat rushing to my cheeks, I quickly put back the bottle and grabbed a bottle of water instead. The last thing I needed was Jared knowing I took a shot every time my anxiety got worked up. But in my defense, it's not like I had any sort of rules back in Portland. I gulped down the water and sighed, leaning my back against the cool fridge door. Guess alcohol wouldn't be fighting my battle for me this evening. I would have to do it all by myself.

I heard the back door open, and Jared stuck his head through the entrance. His eyes locked with mine, begging to talk to me, but knowing he couldn't around all these people. He would have to wait.

"You ready for the movie, sis?" He asked.

"Ready as ever," I smiled.

He nodded and grinned, motioning for everyone to come in. We all settled into the living room, Kim nestling up to Jared, Paul sitting at the opposite end of the couch, Embry and Quil sprawled out on the floor, and me by myself, in Dad's love seat.

I felt Paul's eyes on me about half way through the movie, but acted like I didn't notice. What was he staring at? Did I have something on my face? I shifted slightly so he couldn't see my face, letting my hair fall down to cover the side that was facing him.

Knowing that he no longer could study whatever it was he was studying about me, I relaxed into Dad's chair, wrapping my blanket tighter around me. This chair also reminded me of when I was a kid, when I would sit on Dad's lap while watching a movie, and then fake asleep on his chest just so he would carry me up to bed and tuck me in.

This caused a bit of nostalgic pain to fill my chest, so I quickly pushed the thought away. Things were so different now. How was I ever supposed to be happy in this house when all I could do was think about times that were better than the present?

I was asleep before the credits rolled.


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up in the morning lazily, slowly stretching my arms above my head and reaching my toes to the bottom of the bed. Opening my eyes, finally, and realizing I was in my room. I didn't even remember falling asleep last night during the movie – someone must have carried me up to bed. My guess was Jare.

I felt much better today. My head felt clearer, and my body didn't feel as plagued and weighed down as it did yesterday. But maybe that was just because I had missed dinner last night.

It didn't take long for my stomach to start to rumble, begging me for food. I padded down the hallway, and down the steps, to the kitchen.

"Morning darling," My dad said from the kitchen table, with a newspaper in hand. "There's coffee ready."

I smiled stupidly at the sound of his voice, and at the fact that I hadn't had coffee made for me in years. I trotted over to him and slung my arms around his shoulders. "Morning, poppa. I missed you yesterday."

"Oh yeah, baby, I'm sorry about that. I went out with Charlie Swann to the city for the day. I didn't get home last night until late."

"Ooooh, the big city of Seattle. I haven't been there in ages. I love it down there!"

"Well, we'll have to make another trip soon," Dad said with a chuckle and sip out of his mug.

I grinned at this, and put some eggs on the skillet. "You want any eggs, Dad?"

"No thanks, I'm actually about to head out for work," He replied, walking over to me and planting a kiss on the side of my head. "I'll see you this evening."

My shoulders slumped a tad. "Alright, Dad, go save the world," I added with a sarcastic eye roll.

"You know me too well, darling!" He called from behind his shoulder as he made his way out the front door.

Flipping my eggs, I heard Jared thumping down the steps. "Oh baby! Is that breakfast I smell?" He hollered, a goofy smile plastered on his face.

"Jare," I said, scrunching my eyes at him and pointing a finger to his face. "I think you have a bit of drool…right…there…"

He smacked my finger out of his face as I laughed. "Oh, shut up Scar! I can't help I'm hungry all the time," Laughing himself, and pouring a cup of coffee.

I rolled my eyes at him and made us both bacon and eggs. I was already on my second cup of coffee by time the food was finished. I yelled up the stairs for Jared and he came thumping down them once again.

"You're so loud," I said laughing, placing his breakfast in front of him and onto the kitchen table, and sitting across from him.

When he didn't reply, I raised my eyes to meet him. His eyebrows were scrunched, like he was trying to pick me apart. His eyes also were dripping with judge.

"What?" I asked, offended already. I knew what was coming.

"Are we going to talk about last night?"

"There's nothing to talk about," I mumbled hatefully.

Jared sighed and slumped back into his chair. "Just because you haven't seen me in years doesn't mean you can't tell me things. Nothing has changed, Scar. I'm still your big brother."

This hurt me a little. I felt like such a wuss. My throat started to grow tight. I didn't talk to most people about my anxiety, mostly because I felt like a nutcase, and also because I grew anxious just getting on the subject of it.

But Jared was right. He was my big brother, and I desperately needed someone to lean on. I kind of wanted to curl up in a ball and cry while he rubbed my shoulder. I also kind of wanted to give him the finger and walk out the front door. Why am I like this?

I finally brought my eyes to meet his. He stared back at me, his eyes now concerned.

I took a breath in, trying to ignore my accelerating heart rate. _It's just Jared._ I told myself. Over and over again.

Finally, my lips parted. "It's just anxiety, Jare," I said quietly.

He answered almost before I even finished my sentence. "Scarlett, that wasn't just anxiety. I heard your heart rate, you were freaking- "

I interrupted him. "You heard my heart rate?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

His eyes grew a little bit and he shook his head quickly. "I mean I didn't hear it, obviously, but from the look on your face, it was clear…you looked like you saw a ghost."

"Well I wasn't expecting the guy who about shit himself the first time he saw me to be standing in our living room." I said, my hateful tone rearing its head once more.

"I don't want to talk about Paul," Jared said firmly. "I want to talk about you."

I scooted my chair back and picked up my plate, my meal only half eaten. "I don't understand what you want to talk about. I didn't expect him to be here. Just an hour before I got home I saw him and that rude girl, whom I may add hates me as well, fighting. She was hitting him, and then she saw me, and yelled at me- "

This time Jared interrupted me. "Scarlett, I said I didn't want to talk about Paul. I don't care what he did. I want to talk about you. What's the matter? That wasn't normal last night. You're not okay."

"Jared! I just got anxious and wanted to be by myself! That's it!" I yelled, growing more frustrated by the moment.

He didn't seem to understand the reason why I freaked out was because of the very reason he kept saying he "didn't want to talk about".

"Okay, okay… don't get angry. Let's just back up. Have you talked to anyone about this?"

I rolled my eyes, but this time being serious. "If you're asking if I had a therapist in Portland, Jared, no, I did not."

"Do you want one? I have a really good friend- "

Okay, this interruption, I really couldn't help. I laughed in his face. "Tell me you're joking. Just tell me you're joking and we will forget this conversation ever happened."

He stood up and closed the distance between us, placing a hand on my arm. "Scarlett, I just want you to be okay. I don't ever want you feeling that upset. You shouldn't have to battle it alone, that's all."

My eyes were starting to burn. In Portland, I didn't have to worry about this. No one cared if I had panic attacks or not. I was fine there, and I'll be fine here.

"Jared, I have anxiety. Not schizophrenia. I'm okay." I pushed past him and started to make my way outside. I needed some air.

"Scarlett. We're not going to pretend like I didn't see you pick up that vodka last night. You're 18, what are you thinking?"

Now I was really pissed. "Jared! You can't just let me live with our psychotic, no good mother for years and years and not try to figure out how to get me back to La Push and then get mad at me when I act like her! You just can't!" I yelled furiously at him, the tears streaming now.

I stormed out the front door, angrily swiping my tears away. Stupid tears. Stupid Mom. Stupid anxiety. Stupid Jared and his stupid prying. Stupid _me._

I could not even believe Jared just through that in my face. I'm sure my dad had told him how Mom's drinking had picked up over the years, and I'm sure they were worried about her influence on me, and blah blah blah.

And now because of one measly _almost_ sip he thought I was some angry, underage alcoholic. And let's not forget he basically thought I was crazy.

I trudged along the road until I saw a local diner. It was then that I realized my stomach was still growling, from not being able to finish my breakfast. I headed straight for the front door, and found myself a booth in the back. I had ordered pancakes when I felt eyes on me.

I looked up to see a couple of the boys whose names I couldn't remember, and also Paul. I tore my eyes away from his, heat rising to my cheeks. "You've gotta be shitting me," I mumbled under my breath.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him get up and make his way towards me. My stomach started doing flip flops. I dug my finger nails into my palms to steady my breath. What was he doing?

"Hey," He said, his voice sounding like honey. "Mind if I sit?"

"Uh, no, go ahead," I replied.

He slid into the booth across from me and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "So what brings you to ole Patsy's?"

"Um, I just needed a break from the house." My eyes finally met his. I swear I could swim in those brown pools of liquid.

"You alright?" He asked suddenly. "You seem on edge."

I couldn't help but laugh. That was the understatement of the year. "I'm fine. Jared and I just kind of got into a tussle."

"He's an idiot. What kind of tussle?" He asked quickly, his voice trying and failing to hide a hint of annoyance.

I smiled at him already knowing Jared must have started it. "Just the kind where he won't shut up."

He raised a brow at me and smirked. "Little miss cryptic, huh?"

I shrugged easily. "I've been called worse."

He flashed his teeth at me, white and brilliant. I couldn't help but smile back, looking down at the plate in front of me.

"Paul! You ready?" One of the boys yelled from across the diner. They seemed to be heading for the door now.

"Yeah, uh, one second!" He called back.

He glanced back at me nervously. I couldn't help but wonder what his next move would be. "I know this is random…but would you want to hang out sometime?"

This took me by surprise. My lips parted slightly, unsure of what to say. He wanted to hang out with me? So, naturally, I answered the only way I knew how. Sarcastically.

"Are you asking me to hang out because you have some weird fetish for girl fights?"

He looked at me, confusion washing over his face and a bit taken back. "What?"

"Your girlfriend looks like she's ready to beat my ass when we're in waving distance… let alone actually hanging out. Is this a setup?" I asked jokingly, laughing a bit.

His face turned blank. And then it looked pained. And then it turned angry. "She's not my girlfriend. And she's not going to lay a finger on you. Ever. Did she say something to you?"

Now I was confused. "I was only joking. We can hang out, if you want," I told him, smile playing at my lips.

This seemed to relax him, as I noticed his shoulders fall a bit. He smiled at me, and my insides turned to butterflies. This guy was so weird. "Oh," He said, chuckling a bit. "I'll see you around, Scarlett."

I gave him a small wave and gawked at his backside as he exited the diner.

What the hell had just happened?


	7. Chapter 7

I made my way home from the diner to an empty house. Jared wasn't there, but the door was wide open when I arrived so it looked like he had left in a hurry. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at just his name crossing my mind.

Ever since I left the diner I had a bit of an uneasy feeling – well, not necessarily uneasy, but kind of uncomfortable. Paul had asked me to hang out. The name of his (ex, I guess?) girlfriend brought fury to his eyes. And the way he looked at me caused me to feel like the rest of the world was melting away.

I didn't know if I even wanted to hang out with a boy. But then again, I felt silly assuming he wanted to hang out for any reason except to be friends. I didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

I brushed off these endless thoughts, and grabbed a fuzzy blanket and some chamomile tea. I settled into the couch and turned on the first, cheesy love movie I could find that was playing on the television. Why couldn't life be this simple, always?

It wasn't soon before long that I dozed off. I must've been in quite a deep sleep, because I didn't hear the front door open, and I also didn't hear someone walking through my hallway or entering the living room.

"Scarlett," I heard distantly. "Scarlett?"

I groaned and pushed myself further into the couch's depths, pulling the blanket over my head. "Go away, Jared," I mumbled sleepily. "I'm exhausted."

I heard a low chuckle and the end of the couch creaking as someone sat down on it. "Scarlett…" I heard again.

This was when I realized that this was indeed not Jared, and someone I definitely did not want seeing my hair after I woke up. My heart rate accelerated as I peeked over the blankets. Yep. My suspicions were confirmed. _Definitely_ not Jared.

Staring back at me with amused, stunning eyes was Paul.

I smoothed my hair down and looked around the room wildly, pulling the blanket tighter around my chest. I had fallen asleep in a tank top that didn't give me the best coverage. I suddenly felt my cheeks burning up.

"What time is it?" I started. "Where's my family?" I asked, scrunching my nose at him in confusion. "And how did you get in here? Are you following me or something?"

Paul let out a laugh, the sexiest laugh I have ever heard, and let his eyes trail down to my exposed collar bones. He waited a moment before his eyes finally met mine. I felt like I was melting into a puddle.

"Well, in my opinion, it's a bit too early in our relationship to be playing 20 questions, but if you really wanna go that route to start…"

I narrowed my eyes at him and lightly tossed the pillow next to me at his face. "I'm being serious!"

He caught the pillow effortlessly, of course, and flashed a smile at me. "Alright, alright, Nancy Drew. It is 8:30 pm, your dad and Jared are at the beach for a bonfire that was thrown together last minute, I got in here because Jared sent me up here to get you, and also gave me a key, and lastly – I'm not following you, I'm sure much to your displeasure." He said in one breath, eyes twinkling.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I may be Nancy Drew, but you sure are the king of run-on sentences, huh?"

He shrugged lightly and smiled a little, eyes still locked on mine.

I propped myself up on my elbow and pulled my knees tightly to my chest. "So, does this mean I'm supposed to be getting ready to go to the bonfire? I mean, having to take my house slippers off and everything?"

"Well, I think so."

I sighed and made my way off the couch, the blanket still draped around me. "Okay, well, I guess I'll see you down there. Thanks for waking me."

"What do you mean? I'm going to walk you down there," He replied, looking at me funny and tilting his head a little. I almost giggled – he reminded me of a confused puppy.

"Don't be silly," I said. "I can find my way down there. This isn't my first time in La Push, ya know."

"So you're going to make me walk all the way down there by myself?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You scared a monster is going to get you?"

His face went blank for a moment – an emotion crossed his face that I couldn't quite put my finger on. "No monster is going to get me, or you. Because we're walking down together. Boss's orders!"

I huffed and turned towards the stairs. "And who is this imaginary boss you're insisting we listen to?"

"Jared," He said simply.

I did laugh at this one. "Never in his wildest dreams. I should definitely show up walking by myself just for that one."

"Not gonna happen," He said with a wink. "I'll be waiting here for you to change, little one."

I looked at him weirdly and just shook my head. "Be down in a second."

This was a battle I didn't mind losing. I made my way to my room and threw my hair in a loose braid and swiped some mascara on my eyelashes. I opened up my window slightly and was surprised by the warm air I was greeted with. This must be the reason for this "last minute bonfire".

I grabbed a pair of holy jeans and put on a light v-neck shirt. I slipped my favorite sneakers on and headed down the steps. Paul peeked over his shoulder at me and stood up from his seat on the couch. "You ready?"

"Yes, master," I said sarcastically and gesturing towards the front door. "After you!"

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Treating me like the king I am, I see."

"Whatever you want to call it."

We made our way out the door, him insisting I walk out first despite my eye rolls, and were both greeted with the light, warm air. It felt nice on my skin – a nice change from the usual chilly air.

Walking with Paul was a bit awkward at first. He didn't say much at first, and neither did I. This ten-minute walk was starting to feel a lot longer than just 10 minutes.

Finally, Paul broke the silence. "So, do you miss Portland yet?"

This took me by surprise. If only he knew just the mere sound of the word Portland caused me to swallow bile down my throat. Speaking of throats, mine started to burn. I didn't want to talk about my home in Portland. Not at all.

"Um," I started, having to inhale a little deeper than usual to fill my lungs with air. I wasn't going to let my freaky anxiety win this time. "No. No, I don't."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him glance at me quickly, analyzing. I refused to make eye contact with him, hoping he believed my pathetic façade of simply not caring enough to speak on this subject.

Before he could pry any further, I changed the subject. "I can't believe this weather. It feels so strange being this warm."

Paul laughed, and this caused me to look at him, one eyebrow raised. My signature trade mark for not knowing what the hell is going on.

"What's so funny?" I asked, in full defense mode.

He chuckled again and shook his head. "Nothing, I just must really be boring if we're talking about the weather."

I gave him a small smile in return at this. "I have a long history of keeping men on their toes."

He tore his eyes away from mine at this, and stared straight ahead. His demeanor appeared to become a bit rigid, and I didn't miss the clenching of his jaws. What had I said?

We were silent the remainder of our two-minute walk.

When we finally arrived, I was delighted to see the sight of Kim jogging up to us. I had only met her for the first time when I first moved back here and she was so insanely nice. I had never had a really close friend before, and the thought of a close friend excited me. And best case scenario, she would be my sister-in-law one day, and worst case scenario, we would become best friends and then Jared would dump her. What a shitfest that would be.

Kim tore me away from Paul (thankfully) and dragged me towards the table of food. As soon as I saw the food before me my stomach started howling and it was then that I realized I had missed dinner.

Kim giggled and asked, "You hungry or what?"

"I'm starving!" I exclaimed, my eyes already scanning the lengths of the table. There were cheeseburgers and hot dogs. I settled on a cheeseburger because hotdogs freaked me out.

"Kim, I think I might have pissed Paul off." I said suddenly.

Kim made a face and rolled her eyes. "That isn't hard to do, Scar."

Before I could reply I felt a warm arm wrap around my shoulder. I looked up to see Seth. "Hey Scar!"

I smiled warmly at him, happy to see him. Seth made me feel comfortable. "Hey Seth, how's it going?"

He grinned and said, "Just got finished beating your brother's ass in soccer!"

I had almost forgot the fight Jare and I had earlier until he walked over to us and punched Seth lightly. "Oh shut up, Seth. You play dirty and you know it!"

I didn't hear Seth's reply because I was too busy worrying about speaking to Jared. His eyes finally landed on me and he smiled softly. "Hey, baby sis."

Relief washed over me. I hoped this meant we were dropping what happened earlier and pretending like it never happened. I knew it would come back up eventually, but for now, he didn't see bothered. We weren't good at staying mad at each other for very long.

After this we made our way around the fire and laughed and talked for a whiles. Most the boys had plenty of beers – like tons. But none of them ever acted drunk, in the slightest. It was so strange. I hung out with the girls there for most of the time, listening to the local gossip about people whom I had never even heard of.

I met Jacob Black's girlfriend, Nessie, and she talked my leg off for a while. She was super sweet, and kept making plans for us in the future I couldn't help but laugh at. She was a little bit of an "in your face" kind of person.

After hanging with the girls for a little bit, I made my way over to my dad's lap. He didn't mind me being full grown and sitting on his lap, and I didn't feel silly in the slightest. He was talking to Jacob's dad while I had my head rested on his shoulder.

I closed my eyes for a bit, still dreadfully tired from the day. I opened them, finally, and my eyes met Paul's from across the fire. Had he been watching me? I shifted uncomfortably and tore my gaze away from his.

I heard my dad groan underneath me, and I shifted my weight up quickly. "Sorry, pops, am I getting too heavy for you, old man?" I asked jokingly. It was just he and I sitting by the table of food now, as everyone had made their way to the fire now.

My dad didn't answer, so I looked down at him in confusion. His hand was clutching his chest and he was gasping for air, unable to speak.

"Dad?!" I yelled loudly, placing my hands on his shoulders. He started to flail in his chair, and started to slide off of the side. Terrified, I used all my strength to hold him from falling. My chest was filled with fear and my breath was labored. I was starting to see stars and my ears had so much pressure in them they felt like they were going to burst off of my head.

"Jared! Jared!" I screamed through my tears. "Something is wrong with Dad!"

And then, I saw black.


	8. Chapter 8

**THIS CHAPTER IS PAUL'S POV**

The scene laid out before me unfolded faster than I ever could have imagined. Everything was a blur. I had been watching Scarlett, as always. I couldn't help it. Her eyes were softly closed and her hands were resting in her lap. Her dark hair draped over her right shoulder, and a few strands moved with the wind, framing her face and tickling her cheek.

I was thinking about how foolish I had acted earlier – when she mentioned she had history with other boys. Not that it was any of my business. But also, it was. Maybe she was joking. Maybe she wasn't. Regardless of any of this, the thought of her with another man burned me alive.

And the sound of her heart speeding up, constantly. Every time I noticed it, I ached and I ached inside. It made my bones hurt from craving to touch her; to cradle her close to my chest, and to run my fingers through her long, brown hair. I wanted to know why she felt what she did. I wanted to know why I damn near caused her to have a panic attack while I was in the room. I wanted to know why she refused to talk about her life in Portland. But all these things – I couldn't ask. Not yet anyway.

All of these things were weighing my brain down. I barely talked to anyone all night. It wasn't anything personal, of course, I just mentally could not get my mind off of her…or my eyes, for that matter.

It was because of all of this I had missed the early warning signs of her father's heart attack. I had missed him shifting uncomfortably underneath her. I had missed his face contorting in pain. I had missed him clutching his chest every couple of minutes or so. And it was because she opened up her beautiful, emerald eyes at me that I tore my own eyes away and missed the actual moment of her father having a heart attack.

"Jared!" She cried. "Jared there's something wrong with Dad!"

The air seemed to stand still at this moment. Everything happened at once. Scarlett hit the sand, her Dad rolling off of his chair right beside her, gasping for air like it was food and he was a starved animal. Jared sprinted over to them; Jake, Embry, Sam, and Quil on his tail. Emily and Sue Clearwater gasped loudly, hands flying to their face. Kim was freaking out, tears streaming down her face.

Leah and Nessie hopped up out of their chairs simultaneously, mouths agape. Seth grabbed onto Claire, little Claire, pulling her off of the ground and buried her head into his chest.

And there was me. I stood there, like the idiot I was. In shock. Every fiber of my being on fire, and the skin on my back tingling like there was a thousand bugs crawling on it. The boys had Scarlett's dad in their arms now, rushing off of the beach and to the nearest car.

"Paul!" Jared screamed. "Paul!" He screamed again, when I didn't answer the first time.

I finally snapped out of whatever state of shock I was in and rushed over to Scarlett, still laying on the ground, passed out.

"Paul, get Scarlett and meet us at the hospital," Emily said from behind me, ominously, running after Sam now.

I lifted Scarlett into my arms effortlessly, and started running as fast as I could to my truck.

Scarlett stirred in my arms and her eyes shot open. "Paul," She said, struggling to sit up in my arms. "Paul, where's Dad?" Tears were flowing out of her wild eyes now at a rate that was faster than fast.

I held her tighter in my arms now, feeling like I was going to puke and pulling her closer to my chest. "We're going Scar, we're going. We're going to meet them at the hospital now."

Scarlett choked back a sob and looked like she had seen a ghost. Her russet colored skin was now pale white. It was truly making me sick to see her like this.

When we finally made it back to my truck I flung open the door and set her down gently onto the seat next to me.

Beside me, Scarlett's chest was pumping out of her chest. I revved the engine and flung the truck into reverse, speeding down the narrow road to the hospital. Scarlett was sucking in her breaths fast, and nervously tapping her foot. For a second I wondered if she was going to turn blue with worry.

I placed a hand on her quivering thigh. She twitched slightly at my touch, and looked up at me with tear filled eyes. In that moment, I realized that I would go to the ends of the Earth to make the world she was carrying on her shoulders lighter. I needed her.

"He's gonna be okay, Scar."

She shook her head sadly. "I don't know," She began. "I just don't know how we didn't catch this. He's never had any health problems, but my grandpa – he, he did…and just…" She placed her head in her hands and moaned. "We're so stupid."

I took my eyes off of the road and focused them on her. "Scarlett, this isn't anyone's fault, health problems sneak up."

She mumbled something in the palms of her hands and stayed like that until I pulled into the hospital parking lot. She didn't wait for me to finish putting the truck into park, instead slinging the door open and bolting for the hospital doors. I didn't try to catch up with her. I knew she needed Jared.

I anxiously made my way into the small hospital, finding everyone sitting on the edges of their seats in the waiting room. My eyes immediately scanned the room for Scarlett, but it didn't take long to find her.

"You don't understand; I _need_ back there!" She exclaimed angrily, tears still streaming down her face.

The nurse blocking the exit off kept shaking her head. "I'm sorry, honey, you're not permitted-"

Scarlett cut her off again. "I don't give a flying shit! That's my dad!"

Before I could intervene, Jared grabbed Scarlett's arm and lightly pulled her backwards. She stumbled into his chest and flung her head around to look at him with a hateful glare. The nurse disappeared down the hallway, quickly.

"Jared, why the hell did you do that?" Scarlett cried angrily. "She was this close to cracking!"

Jared looked at her with sorrowful eyes and placed a hand on her back, trying to lead her to the waiting area.

"Get off me," She growled, swatting his hand away. "You're no help."

Jared was about to say something, getting onto her I'm sure, but Kim gave him a look and shook her head. She then went over to Scarlett and mumbled something into her ear. Scarlett's face switched from anger to puppy dog eyes. She drooped her head as Kim lead her down an opposite hallway.

I sat down between Jake and Embry and placed my own head in my hands. Jake placed a hand on my back, hesitantly, and gave me a small pat. I don't think any of us knew what to say.

The entire room was quiet. Jared had disappeared. Most of the girls' faces were red, and all of the boys looked grim.

"I feel like I should be doing something," I muttered.

Embry sighed. "There's nothing to do but wait, man."

"Why does this have to happen to _my_ Scarlett? And why did it have to happen before she's comfortable enough to need me? I feel useless – my insides are aching. I just want to make all of this go away from her."

It made me kind of nauseous sharing my thoughts with the others like this. I usually would never. But this was word vomit, and I couldn't stop myself. I felt like I needed to bolt to the nearest toilet.

Emily walked over and placed a soothing hand on my shoulder. "It'll be okay, Paul. She seems like the type to want to handle things on her own. Let her do that now, and once you have her, she will naturally fall into your comfort. Just keep a watchful eye on her for now. We're all here to help."

"I need some air." I said suddenly, walking briskly out of the room. I felt like I was going mad. I started jogging one I hit the sidewalk, and then started sprinting once I saw trees. I needed out of this skin.

As soon as I hit La Push, I bursted into wolf form, my clothes shredding and the cool ground consoling my paws. I barely had a handle on my own emotions…how was I supposed to take care of someone else's too?

I didn't know how I was going to survive this imprint thing.

So I howled, and I howled, and I howled – with Scarlett's eyes never leaving my mind.


	9. Chapter 9

My eyes were burning. They were bloodshot, and they were burning. I had stayed up through the evening, and all through the night. It was now 7:30a.m, and I was on my sixth cup of coffee. The nurses felt bad for me – it was all too obvious. They were offering me a room, free of charge, just to "rest" in for a little while. I declined with only a shake of the head. I hadn't spoken since about 9pm when Kim had walked me away from all the madness.

I just had nothing to say. If I opened my mouth, I was afraid I was going to barf. I couldn't even form a sentence if I tried. The doctor, Carlisle, I think, had confirmed to us that Dad had a heart attack. A pretty aggressive one, he said. He didn't say much else except for that he would be in surgery for a little bit, and then proceeded to tell me to try not to worry. That piece of advice went in one ear and right out the other.

Throughout the night, no one tried to make any small talk. They also didn't try to talk to me, either. I was grateful for this.

Everyone was still there, with the exception of Quil – he had taken Claire home around midnight and said he would be back first thing this morning. I didn't have the power to tell him this wasn't necessary, and that Jared and I could handle it on our own. But something in me told me that none of these people would leave, even if we insisted. They must be really fond of Jare. I slumped even further in my chair at this thought – knowing I had missed out on more of a family other than just Jared and Dad.

I had also come to the conclusion that I hated my mom. Like, I actually fucking hated my mom. It was weighing my chest down with every breath and thoughts were flooding my head. I really hated her. I hated her. I hated her. I really fucking hated her.

So, here I was, back up against the cold, hard chair and wallowing in my own self-pity. I couldn't help but feel miserable. This was exactly the kind of luck I had. The kind of waiting for a decade to return home to my dad only for him to come close to death the moment I returned. I might hate my mom – but the world sure did hate me, too.

I mindlessly took a sip of my black coffee, flinching a little when the dark liquid burnt my tongue. I saw Sam lock his eyes on me, catching my movement. He was the only one still awake, and I had met his cautious gaze more than once. He was definitely keeping a watchful eye over me, and I couldn't tell if it was annoying the hell out of me or if I was grateful for it. Honestly, at this point I felt like dumping the entire coffee pot on my exposed thighs just to feel physical pain. The mental aching was much worse.

I heard shuffling in the hallway, and then the double doors opened. Dr. Cullen stepped into the waiting area and I leapt out of my chair immediately. So did Sam.

"News?" I asked, my voice shaky. My throat was painfully dry, despite the endless cups of coffee.

Carlisle nodded his head one and spoke softly, careful not to wake the others. His voice sounded like velvet. "He's got about one hour left of surgery. We're putting in a couple of stints. It was a bad one and a terrible scare, but he's going to be okay. A long recovery, but he's going to be okay. I would say you guys can see him around noon today."

I felt my shoulders relax immediately and tears flooded my eyes. Sam placed a hand on my back and gave him a nod of his own head. "Thank you, Carlisle."

"Of course. Now get some rest," He said eyeing me, and smiling with the prettiest set of teeth I had ever seen.

I turned around to wake Jared, but another set of chocolate eyes met mine. The ones that turned my heart into a puddle. Paul was standing in the doorway with a soft expression but concerned eyes, and running his eyes all over me…almost as if he was checking and reminding himself that I wasn't an apparition. I don't know what came over me then, but I acted without fully thinking.

It was like my body was moving mechanically, and I wasn't the one controlling it. I closed the distance between Paul and I, and embraced him tightly. My head nestled into his chest, and the scent of pine trees flooded my nostrils. I inhaled deeply; His warmth wrapping around me like a blanket. I felt my heartbeat slow immediately He placed his nose on the top of my hair as he placed his hand on the back of my head, cradling it like a baby. He strangely felt like home.

As he was pulling me closer, I honestly felt drunk. I didn't open my eyes until I heard her stirring behind me. I pulled back from Paul quickly, realizing how weird I just made that. Shit. I didn't make eye contact with Paul, feeling my cheeks burning red in embarrassment. Why did I do that? I was such an idiot.

I turned around and saw Jared looking past me, at Paul with a strange expression, Sam looked weirdly content with our interaction, and Seth was beaming at me. Everyone else was still sleeping. I brushed off that weird moment and sat back down beside Jared. My eyes caught Paul's for only a moment, and he looked very confused.

"Dad's gonna be okay," I told Jared, placing a hand on his knee. He was careful not to stir too much and wake up Kim, fast asleep on his shoulder.

His eyes twinkled at me as a smile spread across his face. "I heard," He replied, giving my hand a small squeeze.

"Yup, and we can see him soon, too!" I said excitedly. I felt like a ginormous weight was lifted from my shoulders.

"I also heard Carlisle say we couldn't see him until around noon…you need to go home and rest, Scar. I know you've been up all night."

I shook my head immediately but Jared spoke up again before I could even open my mouth. "Paul, would you mind running Scarlett home? Her eyes look like she has smoked a gram of weed."

Before I could protest I couldn't help but let a laugh escape my lips. Jared knew exactly how to piss me off while making me laugh at the same time. He was about the only one who could.

"Jared, that wouldn't be fair to everyone else who has stayed here all night-" I started.

He cut me off again. "And it wouldn't be fair of us to wake them and insist on going home, would it? Unlike you, they are happily dreaming right now!"

I rolled my eyes and swear I saw a smile touch Kim's lips. I would bet money that she was faking on Jared's shoulder.

"Seriously, Scar, we will be home soon. Then we will all come back as soon as Carlisle gives us the go. I'm just gonna give everyone time to wake up first."

I didn't really know what to say, so I hesitantly looked at Paul. Would he even want to take me home? I didn't want to bug him. I could walk…it really wasn't that big of a deal.

Paul gave me a tiny smile and motioned his head towards the exit sign. "Come on, I'll take you."

Jared gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and my mind started flurrying a little bit. I really didn't want to be alone with Paul after my stupid hugging incident. That was so weird of me. Why did I do that?

I mumbled a goodbye to Jared and made my way over to Paul. I pulled my jacket closer together as we made our way out of the hospital and to his truck. As we got situated in the truck, my stomach rumbled loudly and Paul laughed a little bit.

"Breakfast time?" He asked, eyeing me out of the corner of his eye.

"Mm," I started. "French toast sounds good, but sleep sounds better."

"Aye aye, cap'n," He said jokingly.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror. "Oh my God," I said with disgust. "Jared really wasn't kidding, was he?"

"About what?" He asked curiously.

"This!" I exclaimed, turning to look at him and pointing at my face. "I look clinically insane!"

Paul gave me a smirk. "What do you mean? You always look like that."

"Hey!" I punched him lightly in the arm. His eyes seemed to light up at my touch, and I couldn't help but raise one eyebrow in curiosity.

His smile stretched widely across his face. "Joking."

I rolled my eyes dramatically and stifled back a laugh as we pulled into my driveway. I started to open the door when the realization hit me like a ton of bricks. "Paul! Shit!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"Jared has the house key," I moaned, sinking down into the car seat. I was never going to get to bed tonight. Or today, I should say. "And of course, all the windows are locked. I made sure to do that when I was home alone last night."

Paul shifted uncomfortably next to me. "Well," He spoke nervously. "You could always come sleep at my place. Embry lives with me but he isn't there right now since he's at the hospital. You can sleep in my bed and I can nap on the couch. I don't mind." If I thought he was nervous _before_ he asked me, you should have seen him _after_ he did.

I opened my mouth slightly, unsure of what to say. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," He said a little too quickly. "I promise this isn't some ploy to get you in my bed." He said even quicker. The awkwardness in the air was _so_ real right now. I decided to lighten things up before this got even worse. Paul looked more embarrassed than he was used to feeling.

"Well, Lahote, I would hope you have smoother lines than that to get a hot gal like me in bed with you," I said evenly, adding a playful wink at the end.

This seemed to relax him. He gave me a belly laugh, a real one, and reversed out of my driveway. "You have no idea what kind of lines I've got up my sleeve, Thatch."

I laughed and shook my head. "If those ones are anything like that last one then find another girl to use them on, please."

Paul looked at me weirdly, and gave me a tiny smile. "I'll just wait for you to loosen up, I think."

I could feel myself starting to blush, so I rolled my eyes at him (a defense mechanism of mine, clearly) and turned my head back around to stare at the passing trees. It didn't take too long to pull up to Paul's home. It was small, and made of bricks and stones. I liked it.

He led me into the house and down the hallway, and then into his room. "Well, this is it," He said awkwardly.

I nodded my head at the Led Zeppelin posted on his wall. "Led Zepp fan, I see." I was secretly swooning at this. This man was going to kill me.

He smiled hugely. "You like them?"

"My favorite!"

"I should have known," He said cryptically.

I raised an eyebrow at him, again, and plopped down on his bed. It was soft, and big. I felt like melting into it. "Thanks for this, again."

He removed any trace of joking-ness of his face and replaced it with caring eyes. "Of course," He replied, his voice soft, like silk. "Goodnight, Scar."

He turned and left the room, shutting the door lightly behind him. I tossed off my shoes and pants into his floor, not caring that this wasn't my own bed or that I didn't know Paul, and climbed to the top of the bed, relaxing into his sheets. His bed smelled just like him.

I fell asleep quickly, still feeling a little drunk off of our hug from earlier. Who needed real alcohol, anyway?


	10. Chapter 10

***Author's note – Hey guys!** **so I know this is a short chapter, but I'd really love to hear from you guys before I continue on. Are you liking it? Hating it? Let me know! - All my wolfy love, x**

I sat up in a panic. I saw the poster filled walls and the grey comforter I was wrapped up in. Then I realized I was not in Portland, I was not in my home in La Push, but I was in Paul's bed. Wow. I was actually _in Paul's bed._

Then a thought that made me sick hit me like a brick. This is the same bed that sour faced, cat eyed, Rachel had been in. I huffed in disgust and threw the blankets off me and stood up immediately. Why did I care anyway? It's not like there was anything going on between Paul and I, he just was being friendly and offered me a place to stay. And they were broken up before I had even talked to Paul. And they just coincidentally broke up as soon as I moved here. And she also coincidentally hated me. But hey – I didn't have the answers.

As I started to slip my pants back on, I heard the scuffle of feet in the room next to me. Damn. I was hoping that Paul would be asleep so I could slip out.

I glanced at myself in the mirror and had to hold back a gasp. My eyes were still dreadfully red and my hair was shooting out in all different directions. I smoothed my hair down and sighed, realizing there wasn't much I could do about my eyes.

Sticking my head out of Paul's door, I was hit in the face with the most amazing smell I could have imagined. No way…could he have really? I was almost drooling at this point.

I quietly tip-toed down the hallway and stood right outside the entrance of what I assumed was the kitchen. I heard Paul on the phone.

"Yeah, man, she's still asleep. She was out like a light..."

And then he said, "I just don't know, I just…I can't describe it. It's making me queasy. I just have never felt like this."

Feeling bad for eavesdropping, I quietly tip toed back down the hall way, and then purposely loudly made my way down the hallway. I peeped my head into the kitchen.

"You're up," Paul said happily, a smile stretching across his face, and his eyes bright. He was leaning against the counter, phone nowhere in sight now. He looked so, so sexy.

My stomach flip flopped when I saw the plate of French toast sitting on the kitchen table. No one besides my dad had ever made me breakfast before. Oh shit! Dad!

"What time is it?" I said quickly, forgetting I was supposed to be back at the hospital at noon, and also forgetting all about the French toast on the table.

"It's 1:30…" Paul's voice trailed.

"We have to go!" I said, turning around.

Paul was at my side in an instant, his fingers lightly grasping my arm. "Jared gave me strict orders to not wake you, make sure you eat, and make sure you shower before you go back to the hospital."

"Yeah, but, I've got to go see Dad," I said quickly, my breath coming out rapidly now. I hated this stupid anxiety. I hated feeling like this. It came out of nowhere.

Paul's eyes seemed to seep with concern and his grip on my arm tightened ever so slightly, as he guided me to sit at the table. "Hey," He said softly. "Your dad wouldn't want you to show up starving and smelly," He joked, his smile causing my heart to skip a beat.

My gaze fell to the floor. "I'm sorry for acting insane, all the time, it's just…" My voice trailed off. Paul didn't seem to mind.

"You don't need to explain anything to me," He stood up and walked to the counter and grabbed a mug. "I made you coffee, too."

A grin touched my lips. "Wow. A bed, breakfast, and now coffee…I don't recall paying to stay here. What did I ever do to deserve this kind of treatment?"

Paul rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Just eat up."

We talked casually over "breakfast" and I was surprisingly enjoying it. Paul didn't seem all that bad. I'm not sure his reputation agreed with my opinion though, from the things Kim had told me – some things on accident.

"So," I said, in between bites of French toast. "Kim's told me that you've had quite the run around with the girls around here."

Paul's eyes widened at this and he choked a bit on his coffee. I couldn't help but snicker. One thing I wasn't afraid of: getting to the bottom of things.

"She said what?" He asked, his voice close to a growl.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "She also told me you had a bit of an anger management problem?"

He scrunched his face up. "Kim doesn't know what she's talking about. I don't have an anger management problem, and the only girl I've been with for ages is Rach-" He stopped his sentence abruptly – probably because he noticed the look of disgust on my face that I was trying and failing to hide.

I had absolutely no reason to be jealous. I knew this. He knew this. So, why did the image of Rachel with Paul piss me off so much? I could've puked right there at only the thought. Stupid Rachel.

Paul wiped any trace of emotion off his face and replaced it with an apologetic look. "Scarlett, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap…"

I picked up my plate and set it in the sink, and then plastered a fake smile on my face. "Not your fault," I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "None of my business, I just thought if I was eating all your food up in your house I should at least know a little more about you."

He gave me a small smile, knowing I was full of shit. "I just like to keep the past in the past. That's where it will stay, anyway."

My shoulders seemed to involuntarily relax at this. No more Rachel. Inwardly, I felt flooded with relief. Mentally, I felt like a kook for even thinking twice about Paul Lahote's life.

I chose to ignore this and instead replied, "Well, care to run me home? I'm dying for a shower and I'm sure Jared is there now."

Grabbing the car keys off the table and nodding at me, he motioned his tanned, muscular, beautiful arm towards the doorway. "Ready when you are."

Paul drove me the short drive back home and told me he would see me at the hospital tonight. I tried to tell him he didn't need to come back again and to just stay at home and relax, but he refused. I knew he was Jared's best friend and all but honestly, I was shocked. I didn't have one friend who would go through all that trouble for me – and especially not all that trouble for my sibling.

I thanked him for everything he had done, and ignored the way my stomach flip flopped when his hand grazed over mine. I also ignored the way his eyes lingered over my lips when I talked to him.

Before he had the chance to tell me goodbye, I hopped out of the car and jogged up to the front door. Before I had the chance to open it, Jared flung it open and stood blocking my path. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted my feet from the ground. "Oh, Scar," He breathed into my hair happily.

"Can't breathe," I mumbled dramatically. Jared dropped me in an instant and was grinning ear to ear. "Glad you finally decided to show up!"

"Glad you finally decided to unlock the door!" I joked, punching him lightly on the arm.

"Oh, wah, wah, wah," He mocked. "Go shower! We're gonna go see Dad for a while, and then Emily is cooking us all dinner to give everyone a breath of air after last night. Chicken and dumplings on the menu…I told her it was your favorite."

I moaned in delight. "Nothing in this world sounds better right now!"

Jared laughed and pointed to the steps. "Go, slowpoke!"

I waved him off and treaded up the steps. The shower felt so good on my skin. I had felt permanently cold for the last twelve hours. It felt so nice to have the warmness envelope my exposed body.

I got out quickly and changed into my favorite ripped jeans, and an old off the shoulder sweater. I slipped my ankle boots on and let my dark, wavy hair take its course and dry naturally. Since I knew I would be seeing Paul later, I caught myself mindlessly applying lipstick – a deep shade of red, my go to. And then I hated myself for realizing I was putting on makeup solely to impress Paul. What the hell was wrong with me?

I made my way down the steps to find Quil, Embry, and Paul squished on the couch together watching TV and laughing about something. Jared was on the recliner with his phone in his face, texting Kim, I'm sure.

"Please tell me we aren't all squeezing in one car," I said, entering the room with wide eyes and leaning on the door frame.

Paul's eyes met mine and then lingered on my lips. Then they trailed down my neck and landed on my exposed shoulder, and I immediately blushed pink.

Embry hopped up, smiling brightly. "Well of course we are! Didn't you know that moving here revoked all of your personal space rights?"

I lazily rolled my eyes and let out a small laugh. "Okay, but I'm driving!"

"Like hell you are!" Jared said quickly, snatching the keys I was jangling out of my hand. "We'd all be in the hospital rooms next to Dad if that was the case."

I narrowed my eyes at him and flipped him off. "Let's go, you oafs."

They all followed me out the door like puppy dogs. Maybe I should try bossing these men around more often! Much to my dismay, we squeezed into Jared's Ford Focus. Quil hopped up front with Jared, and I was smashed in the middle of Paul and Embry in the back. I found my heart beat accelerating just at the simple touch of Paul's leg against mine.

I adjusted myself, mostly because I couldn't breathe between these two big monsters, and also because my foot was starting to fall asleep. My hip ended up scooching further on Paul's thigh and I swear I heard him groan a little. And then I swear I heard Jared growl lowly from the front seat. Or maybe I was hearing things.

"Shit," I said suddenly. "It feels like we're in a clown car!"

Paul sluggishly threw an arm around my shoulder and then Embry nudged my side. "You love it, though, don't ya?"

I rolled my eyes, unable to wipe the grin off my face. For once, I was strangely happy. And my mind was clear from any toxic thoughts. I gently leaned a little bit more into Paul's side, and let my head relax back, and then my eyes close.

Jared had turned on an older, indie song that made me feel like I was floating. The windows were down and the boys had their arms hanging out of them. They were all singing along goofily, and I was humming along softly – my throat aching from wanting to sing.

I'd save that for another day.


	11. Chapter 11

***Sorry for the delay in posting… things are about to get freaky. Stay tuned, xx**

The boys and I went to the hospital and visited with my dad for an hour or so. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time, and Dad's hand stayed interlaced with mine the entire visit. Carlisle came in about half way through our visit and said Dad would need to stay under "their careful watch" in the hospital for a couple more weeks, and then he could come home.

It wasn't until I noticed Carlisle looking at me strangely that I realized how uneasy he made me feel. He freaked me out for whatever reason, despite his kindness. At one point, he was on my nerves so badly that my throat seemed to ache. He just lingered in the room, outside the room, at one point even by my side. Didn't he have lives to save?

I just wanted to explode and tell him to leave. Then I pushed away my thoughts and felt bad, since he basically saved my father's life. Then I diagnosed myself as insane again, for the 100th time since I had arrived in La Push.

We said our goodbyes, and made our way down the hallway and back to Jared's car. I walked a little ahead of the boys, humming along to a song in my head and in my own world. I then heard a phone ring, and turned around to see Jare answering his phone.

"Hello? Hey, Em. Oh…oh yeah, yeah, that's cool. I'll let the others know. We'll head that way now. I'll see you soon."

Before anyone had the chance to ask Jared what Emily had said, he told us, "That was Emily. She said Jake invited the Cullen's to hang tonight, and that also Quil invited Claire's family. Also some of the elders want to see everyone, but it's too cold to meet on the beach today and Sam's house isn't big enough for all of us now. So we're gonna meet everyone at The Pub in Forks instead!"

Embry clapped his hands together and grinned hugely. "Yeah baby. I can't wait to get my hands on some pizza. Then I'm gonna whip Quil's ass in ping pong."

Quil laughed loudly at this. "Like hell you will, Call!"

Paul appeared behind me, and then beside me, walking close enough to me to cause my heart to accelerate. "The Pub is sweet. Endless pizza, drinks, and games. Also, I believe they have open mic tonight."

"Oh yeah, Scar! You have to get up there! Scarlett's an amazing singer." Jared explained to the others.

I felt a blush touch my cheeks, and I just rolled my eyes at Jared. "I'll have to have a couple drinks in my system before I do that." Then I realized what I said. My old friends would have cheered that suggestion on…my brother, who had the same raging alcoholic mother as I did, not so much.

Jared's stature grew rigid and anger touched his eyes as they burned into mine. I felt a fire of embarrassment burn in my stomach. I reminded him of Mom. I _sounded_ like Mom.

The tension was thick as we walked in silence. I could feel Jared's eyes burning into the back of my head. This would definitely be on the discussion table for tonight. I inwardly groaned at the thought.

Breaking the silence, Paul nudged me with his elbow. "I didn't know you could sing," He said, his eyes twinkling and a smile teasing at his lips.

We had arrived at the car, and I waited for Jared to get in and shut the door before I answered. "Well, I didn't know that I could. I don't really trust Jared's opinion on much, so I wouldn't expect anything too amazing."

Paul laughed and I couldn't help but smile back at the sound of it. "Come on, we better get in the car before he runs us both over in his fit for underage drinking."

We hopped in the backseat, squeezed in just as tight as before. Jared's eyes glared at me through the rearview mirror every minute or so. And when Paul shifted his weight towards me, he became the recipient of Jared's murderous glare.

Things were dangerously silent and the tension in the car was dangerously thick the entire ride to the pub. When we finally pulled up, everyone began to file out of the car. I followed suit, but Jared's voice stopped me as I stuck my leg out of the door.

"Scar," he sounded exhausted. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

My stomach flip flopped. Why did I feel like I was getting in trouble with a school principal?

I hesitantly placed a hand on the door handle, to shut it, but Paul's hand grabbed ahold of the door at the same time. "Jared, come on, let's go in."

"Butt the hell out, Paul," Jared practically growled, his eyes still facing forward.

I mouthed at Paul, "Just go," and he looked back at me with a pained expression. I could tell he didn't want to leave me on the receiving end of Jared's bad attitude, but I knew how to handle him. At least I thought I did. I gave Paul a small smile, and gently pulled the door shut.

He walked away slowly, as if trying to hear what was about to be said, but Jared didn't say a word until Paul opened the door to The Pub.

Jared sighed before he spoke (he is SO dramatic sometimes), and turned around to face me. "No more beating around the bush. You need to tell me what the hell is going on with you."

My heart rate started to increase rapidly, and for a second, I thought I saw a flash of pity replace the anger seeping from his eyes.

"Jared," I began. I spoke quietly - cautiously. "I don't know what you mean."

He clenched his jaw, and I noticed the knuckles on his closed fist begin to turn white. I refused to make eye contact with him. It was easier that way. I was looking at anything on him _but_ his eyes.

As if he read my thoughts, he replied, "Scarlett. Look at me, please."

I dragged my eyes slowly up to meet his. I couldn't read his expression. My left knee started to bounce – another one of my nervous habits.

"How long have you been drinking? How often?"

Ignoring both of his questions, I told him, "It helps with my thoughts."

Jared's face seemed to contort to fury at my confession. "Says the daughter of an alcoholic."

My words felt like bile coming up. My tone turned from fragile to icy. "Don't you ever compare me to _her."_

"Alcoholism runs in our family – Scarlett, how am I supposed to act when I find out all this time you've been turning to the bottle every time you're feeling stressed?"

"Jared, I'm not drinking because I enjoy it, or because I'm an addict, I drink it because for once in my life, it shuts my fucking brain off! That's it!"

Jared's voice starts to raise. "No alcoholic drinks because they enjoy the fucking taste! Out of all the things you could handle your anxiety with, you choose the demon that took our mother? The one that wrecked her?"

I laughed at this, sounding like a crazy person. "What am I supposed to do? Snap my fingers and turn my head off? See a therapist? Be put on medication? Confess I'm crazy? Because I'm not! I feel like I have shit coming up my throat every second of every day. Like it's just going to spill out of me. Like I'm going to explode with _something_ every day. And it's just amplified since I've gotten here. I don't know what's wrong with me. The sting of alcohol down my throat forces everything else back down – and that's it. Fuck you, Jared." I practically spat at him.

I felt a lump raise in my throat and forcefully swallowed it down. I would not cry in front of Jared. I wouldn't.

He didn't say anything after this for a long moment. Then he placed his hand lightly on my knee, stopping it from bouncing. "You're not crazy, Scar."

I rolled my eyes and then shut them. I didn't answer him.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. You're my baby sister. I would die if anything in this world happened to you. I already feel guilty enough for the life you've had."

I took a deep breath and looked out the window. "Not like you could've stopped it from happening. She had custody of me, anyway."

"You're with us now. I'll back off. It's hard for me not to play the overprotective brother role. I'll do anything you want to help – just please don't turn to alcohol. Especially if it's just a shoulder to lean on you need. I'll always be here, Scarlett. Don't make me lose you, too."

Oh, hell. Here come the tears. "Damn you," I half laughed, half sobbed. "I wasn't going to cry anymore in front of you."

Jared chuckled and used his thumb to wipe away one of my tears. "I love you, Scarlett."

"Don't get all sappy on me, now." I replied. "Fights don't usually end that way."

Laughing, he said, "Ours do."

We (finally) made our way into the pub, and if anyone wondered where we were, they dropped all suspicion when we walked in.

Kim ran up and embraced me, "Scarlett!" She squealed, giving Jared a kiss on the cheek. "I was about to run out there and find you guys."

Jared fell into easy conversation with the guys as Kim dragged him in the opposite direction, and next thing I knew I was being dragged away by Renesmee. I couldn't help but giggle at her excitement as she pulled me over to her family sitting at one of the tables.

"Okay, Scarlett. This is Carlisle and Esme, my grandparents –" she said pointing to a beautiful couple who looked no older than 30.

My mouth fell agape. "Your…grandparents?"

"Mhm," She gave me no time to reply before she was gesturing at the other couple sitting next to them. "And this is my mom and dad, Edward and Bella! The rest of my family is at home, but you can meet them later. They've all been waiting! And, well, you know Jake of course."

I smiled shyly at them, and gave a small wave. Damn. I would've given my left arm to just have been granted _one_ tiny gene from any of these people.

Nessie's dad, Edward, chuckled (at nothing?) and then nodded his head at me. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Scarlett."

"Thank you, you too."

"What a lovely name you have," Esme intervened.

"Oh, well thank you." I said happily.

They were so nice and the air felt a bit lighter around them – so why did I also feel weirdly uneasy at the same time? My throat began to tingle. I cursed myself mentally. I hated this.

Edward glanced at me, a strange look on his face. He quickly wiped any trace of it away. Now I felt even stranger.

Renesmee chatted on and shoved slices of pizza at me, but I could barely hear her. I had made eye contact with Paul from across the room. He was sitting with Seth, Embry, and Quil. I felt my cheeks grow warm by just the sight of his brown eyes pulling me in. I felt my lips turn upwards, unconsciously at him, and he motioned me over.

Ugh. My stomach was turning in all different directions. Why and how did he make me feel like this? I didn't understand. My fingers ached from wanting to run them across his chest…

I told the Cullens I would be back later, and made my way over to Paul's table. Seth hopped up, his expression lighting up when he caught sight of me. He quickly pulled me into a hug. He felt warm, and nice. "Hey, Scar, I didn't even see you were here."

My eyes were still focused on Paul. He was eyeing Seth's hands around my waist now, and his eyes had turned to little slits. I almost laughed. What the hell?

"Well, looks like you weren't paying very good attention to your surroundings then. A lot of people get kidnapped like that, you know."

Seth looked at me incredulously and then dramatically gestured towards his core. "Me, kidnapped? Are you insane? Look at the size of me!"

I smirked at him, teasingly. "Well, you are the smallest out of all the boys, I'd say."

The boys laughed loudly at this, and Seth pointed a finger goofily in my face. "I see how it is, Thatch. I'll remember that."

I grinned and rolled my eyes, taking the open seat next to Paul. He turned to face me, turning my insides to butter. "Hey, there."

My entire body seemed to relax with the sound of his voice. "Hey."

He lowered his voice a bit. "Everything go okay out there?"

"Um," I chewed my lip. "Yeah, yeah everything is okay now."

He looked at me curiously but then nodded. "Good. Oh, and by the way, I signed you up for open mic."

My mouth fell open and my eyes grew twice in size. "You did what?"

"You're next up!"

Strangely enough, my heart beat stayed constant. I guess singing didn't make me as nervous as everything else did.

"I don't know if I should…I mean, what am I even going to sing?"

He looked at me simply. "Well, who is your favorite artist?"

"Lana Del Rey, of course," I said, without hesitation.

Paul chuckled. "Well, then pick a song from her."

Before I had the chance to protest, over the microphone, we all heard, "Scarlett Thatch. You're up next, baby!"

All the boys whooped and Renesmee and Kim applauded ridiculously loud. Heat rose in my face as I stared mindlessly at the man beckoning for me to come up on stage. Come on Scarlett. No matter what your stupid head tells you, your good at singing. It's like _your thing._

I felt Paul's hot breath on my neck. "You can do it."

This sent a shiver of excitement down my body, and I took in a deep breath. What was I getting myself into?

Paul gave my hand a light squeeze and I made my way up onto stage. I told the announcer to put on Lana's song, "Cherry", and I'd sing karaoke style. The lights in the pub dimmed and all eyes were on me.

My heart was loud in my ears. Thump. Thump. Thump. I closed my eyes, hearing the first strums of the guitar play over the speaker. I wanted to impress these people – so, so badly. So badly that I felt like I could explode.

I heard my dad's voice ring through my ears with the same thing he used to tell me every time we would dance along to his old vinyl's. "Without music, we've got nothing. Just let the music move you, baby. Never forget how it can make you feel."

The one thing my anxiety never affected – my passion for music. I wasn't going to let that stop me now, either.

I closed my eyes and began to sway my hips slowly to the beat.

" _Love, I said real love – is like feeling no fear,_

 _when you're standing in the face of danger_

 _Cause you just want it so much._

 _A touch from your real love_

 _Is like heaven taking the place of something evil,_

 _And letting it burn off from the rush, yeah, yeah…"_

The room was dead silent as I finally opened my eyes. My eyed instantly locked with Paul's. His jaw had fallen slack as I sang to him.

" _Darling, darling, darling,_

 _I fall to pieces when I'm with you…"_

I continued, feeling as if I was floating. I felt like I was in another dimension. I closed my eyes again, swaying my hips slowly to the beat. When I opened my eyes once more, I glanced around the room. What I saw was off. Very off. The men in the room, all had the strange look on their face as Paul had. Even my brother. As if they were mesmerized. Was I really that good?

The girls, however, didn't look as affected. Kim was looking at me, smiling normally, nodding her head to the beat. Renesmee looked halfway in a trance, halfway out of one.

That's when I caught sight of the Cullens. They looked like they were going mad. Their faces were contorted in pain, and each one of them were clawing at their ears. Esme and Bella fled the room, and half of my brain told me to stop and make sure they're okay. The other half of my brain devilishly whispered that the show must go on. So that's what I did – my eyes shut, my arms went up, and I sang. For once, my throat felt clear. My mind felt free.

 **PAUL'S POV**

I was looking at Scarlett, but I felt as if I was on another planet. This wasn't the imprint. This was something much different. It would physically pain me to pull my eyes off of her. In that moment, I would've chopped my pinky finger off for her without hesitation. In that moment, I would've killed someone for her without hesitation. Frankly, I would've done _anything._

Her eyes fluttered open once more, and I swear there was a halo of light engulfing her body. I felt like I had been drugged. Her eyes bored into my soul, and I could physically feel my body growing numb – I was engulfed in euphoria. But I couldn't stop it.

" _Cause I love you so much, I fall to pieces_

 _When I'm with you…"_

She sang, tilting her head to the side, confidence seeping from her pores and her arms floating to her sides. She reminded me of a goddess. In that moment, I was undoubtedly bewitched. What was this woman?

The song ended and her lips closed. She smiled sheepishly at the crowd, and scurried off the stage – half running, half walking. I think she went down the hallway to the bathroom. There were some claps, but mostly, the room was dead silent. I felt like I had been hypnotized, and someone had just snapped their fingers in front of my face, and said, "Wake up."

My breathing was uneasy as I glanced around the deadly quiet room. Embry, Jared, Quil, Seth, Sam, Jake, even Edward and Carlisle had the exact same expression on their face as I did. They looked as if they just escaped an entrancement.

"What..the…fuck..was that…" Jared breathed, his voice shaky.

No one answered for what seemed like years. The air was heavy.

Carlisle finally broke the silence.

"She's a siren," He answered, sounding deathly ominous.

 ***EEEEEEP! What did I just do?! Tell me what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm so sorry it has been forever! Forgive me!**

 **PAUL POV**

We were forced to postpone our discussion of Scarlett for later. Before she returned from the bathroom, the boys and I quickly decided we would meet with the Cullen's later. The air felt disturbingly chill.

Scarlett, on the other hand, had a new pep to her step after her performance…almost as if she had transformed into something else entirely. Who, or what, did I imprint on? What the hell was a siren?

The only thing I had ever heard of them were the stories of beautiful girls singing out into the night sky, leading sailors to their death…they were, well, evil. But not my Scarlett? Looking into those piercing, green eyes, I just didn't believe it. I refused.

As she chatted happily with Kim, (the women seemed to have been unaffected by her strange show) she would glance over at me every so often, flashing me a smile, which in turn caused my heart to skip a beat.

As the women kept talking, all of the boys simply looked around uneasily. Carlisle looked like he had heard of his best friend's death, and said he had to make a call soon after his confession – but never returned.

I don't think Jared took his eyes off Scarlett once, studying her every movement. Seth look as if he was about to turn green in the face. Embry kept shooting me nervous glances, as I would quickly avert them. Sam was in full alpha mode; He followed Carlisle soon after he left.

The pack all received a group text in unison, from Sam himself. It read: Get your girls home and meet at Carlisle's in twenty.

The girls finished their food and conversations, and then we led them out of the door. Jared kissed Kim goodbye and walked over to me.

Pulling me aside, his words came out hushed, "Would you mind dropping Scar off at the house? I'm too anxious to take any detours. I need to go over to the Cullen's and find out what the hell is going on now."

Seeing his face sick with worry, I obviously didn't hesitate to shake my head yes. My stomach twisted in excitement, anxiousness, and downright confusion at the thought of being in the car alone with Scarlett. I didn't know what to expect.

After Jared explaining some bullshit excuse to Scarlett on why I was driving her home in his car, and he was going "somewhere else", we both got in the car. It was silent for the first few several moments.

I saw her fingers twisting nervously in her lap. She wanted to say something.

She shifted her body towards me, and grinned hugely – throwing me another curveball. That smile could make me do things a man would never want to admit to.

"So, what did you think?" She asked, her voice full of anticipation.

I played dumb. I needed to see how much she knew herself – if anything at all. "About…?"

She playfully hit me. "About my singing, dummy!"

"I…" I drifted off. How was I going to tell her that her voice put the entire audience in a trance?

"You're hesitating…" She said, her voice growing quieter. "You hated it."

Before I got the chance to open my mouth to reply, she spoke again. Taking her glance down to her lap she mumbled, "I don't know why you signed me up for that stupid thing anyway, I told you I was no good…"

The disappointment in her voice made my inwards sick with worry. Before I spoke, I pulled into her driveway, and then put the car in park. Turning towards her, I hesitantly reached a hand towards her, wondering if that would be okay – when she didn't protest, my fingers lightly tilted her chin up to look at me, and then cupped my hand around her cheek.

Her eyes looked like doe eyes – wide, nervous, and well, mesmerizing. I heard her heart flutter as I started moving my thumb back and forth on her cheek, in soft circles.

"Scarlett," I breathed, unable to tear my eyes from hers. "I didn't reply first off because I didn't know what to say. I don't know how to describe it…I still don't. All I can admit is that it was like you put a spell on me. I lost myself a little in you, listening. It was the most tantalizing thing I've ever seen. You were bewitching. I don't know how to describe it…" I trailed off, feeling a bit cheesy and embarrassed.

She bit her lip in response, and her breathing turned a bit ragged. My entire body felt like it was pulsating as she leaned towards me, slowly. I was frozen as she tip-toed her fingers up my chest, dragged them slowly across my face, and finally intertwined them in my dark hair.

She was silent as she moved towards me, her breath hot on my skin – and smelling like lavender. She hovered her lips near mine, scooting closer. She didn't take her eyes off mine until they closed, her lips landing on mine at last.

Everything around me disappeared as she moved her lips against mine. Biting my bottom lip, gently, I was almost certain I was going to pass out. I felt hazy.

And then suddenly – it was over. Just like that, she pulled back, gave me a sultry smile, and got out of the car. She didn't look back as she walked up the front stairs, her hips moving in a gentle sway. Once again, I felt like I was in a trance.

She opened the door and slowly turned around, making eye contact with me once more. Her eyes were seriously messing with me. Giving me a half smile and a small wave, she entered the house and closed the door softly behind her.

I don't know how long I sat in her driveway after that, just staring at the steering wheel. Long enough for Sam to call and ask where the hell I was, with a hint of worry in his voice. They weren't seriously worried about Scarlett, were they? Hell, was I?

Half of me wanted to burst through that door and pin her up against the wall, feeling her body against mine…and then confess my undying love for her. The other half of me wanted to run for cover, terrified of what was to come. And the thought that I kept pushing to the back of my mind kept coursing throughout it, pressing against my intuition.

Were these feelings I had towards her because of the imprint, or because she had some freaky siren hold on me? Did she truly have the ability to put me in a "trance"? Or was that how all imprints felt? How could I ever tell? Was it both? And would I ever even realized she had some freaky pull against me if the pack wouldn't have witnessed it, too?

I drove to the Cullen's in silence, the air feeling heavy on my shoulders. I felt sick with worry. If they had found something out about Scarlett, I wasn't sure that I was ready to hear it. I was still half convinced that this was all some bad dream, or maybe even a fluke.

Shutting off the car, I stepped out and headed towards the front door. My shoes felt like they had lead in them and my lips were still tingling with heat from Scarlett's kiss. I still couldn't believe she had done that. The same girl who was shaking with anxiety just a couple of days ago, just by the mere sight of me? Was singing, or calling, or whatever the hell it was, the missing puzzle piece to her? Something she needed?

I creaked open the heavy door and peered around the corner. All of the Cullen's were there, and the entire pack. Jared met my gaze, but I couldn't read his discussion.

"Did you take her home?" Sam asked suddenly.

I nodded my head.

"Did she…act normal?"

I scrunched my eyebrows. Normal? What was he getting at? Of course she acted normal – she _was_ still normal. Suddenly I remembered her shifting her body closer to mine and her lips colliding with my own – she dripped with confidence, and sexiness.

Growing a bit rigid, I answered. "A bit livelier, and happy, but for the most part – she was the same. Why wouldn't she be? What did you find out?"

"We found out she bloody near killed us all!" Rosalie interrupted, her teeth bared.

Before I could retort, Jared did for me. "Killed you? What the hell is she talking about?"

"Exactly what I sa-" She started, before Jasper interrupted her.

"When she began singing, it was like…my head was going to explode. I couldn't focus on anything but pain. It was like my ears were bleeding from the inside out. Like there was a screwdriver working its way- "

Seth made a gagging noise at this and Carlisle hushed Jasper with one look.

"What Jasper is getting at," Carlisle started. "Is that when Scarlett sang, it was almost unbearable to sit through. Depending on how much longer she would've went, it could have knocked us out cold. I could withstand more than the others, because I'm much older. And this is something I have not seen, but have heard of before."

I was stunned. "But, it didn't hurt any of us? It was almost as if I was in a trance."

Carlisle nodded again.

Sam spoke up, finally. "Tell them all that you know, Carlisle."

Jared shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and my body began to heat up. I didn't know if I was going to like this.

"Well, as I said, I don't know much…only old legends that I have heard. I had an old friend in Italy who swore revenge on a siren for aiding in the murder of his brother. No one ever saw her, or found her, of course. He went mad scouring the Earth to locate her, but never could. He said that sirens are meant as natural enemies with our kind – but only having the ability to "stun" them, as you will, they are meant to aid other vampire hunting creatures…such as wolves."

When no one replied, Carlisle kept going. "So, if you're wondering if Scarlett is a threat to your kind, the answer is no. But to vampires? Absolutely. If what I know is true, her purpose is to sing – and when she does this, it momentarily puts a vampire down. Then the chance for their enemy, or wolf as you will, to murder them without a problem, and without and trouble at all. That's why the singing didn't affect you guys as it did us – you heard what any man under her bewitching spell would hear…something powerful enough to get you to do quite anything she wanted you to…such as, help her kill a vampire."

Jared spoke first, standing up wildly. "You're telling me…you're telling me; my baby sister is a born vampire hunter?"

Before Carlisle could reply, Jared's voice raised. "No! No! I'm not dragging her into this shit. This life, this danger, is for _me!_ Not for her! It was bad enough when Paul imprinted on her…but no! This isn't fucking happening! I'm supposed to protect her!"

I slammed Jared up against the wall, my own body shaking now. "Jared, shut up."

He gave me a push backwards, but then Sam moved in between both of us. "Both of you, stop, now!" He seethed angrily. Giving us both a push in opposite directions, Jared turned towards the window, his back now facing us.

Sam spoke now. "There's no reason to get worked up over this…she never has to know. She never has to be dragged into this if we don't want her to."

My mouth almost dropped open as my eyes bugged out of my head. "Excuse me? What? You can't hide something this big from her? I won't lie to her- "

"She can't know. She could use this against us, and it would be absolutely deadly! Her plus you all… we all know we're as good as dead!" Rosalie shouted back at me.

Stepping towards her, a growl escaped my lips. "She's fucking harmless, you leech. You're the bloodsucker!"

"Paul!" Jacob and Sam barked at the same time.

"Get your shit together, Paul. If you can't handle this news about _your_ imprint, then maybe you should leave." Jake snarled.

"I'm not going anywhere, Jacob." My words dripped with ice.

Then Jared mumbled, his gaze out the window. He was deep in thought. "Her throat burning, It getting worse…"

This piqued Carlisle's interest. "What is it, Jared?"

Jared spun around, his eyes big. "Carlisle, Scarlett has been singing for most of her life. If she's a siren, why didn't I get put in that witchy spell before? Or my dad? Or any other guy she's been around? I just heard her singing the other day and nothing like tonight happened then…"

Carlisle raised an eyebrow. "From what Donte said, sirens are masters of disguise. She may have the ability to turn it off and on. That would make sense."

Jared wasn't done with his grand epiphany that had hit him. "That, and, you guys caused all of this!"

Emmett growled under his breath. Jared turned his attention on him and rolled his eyes.

"Oh calm down, big boy," He said, his voice full of annoyance. "What I meant by that is that we are triggered as shapeshifters by the presence of vampires. What if it's not any different for Scarlett? Her entire life she has been fine…she moves back here, and is a siren? It only makes sense!"

I had almost forgotten Edward was in the room until he spoke up. "I think you're onto something, Jared."

Sam spoke next. "You think she can control this, Carlisle?"

"I don't see why she couldn't. You guys can control when you shift and when you attack. It should be the same for her."

"There's just the matter of teaching her…how the hell are we going to do that?" Sam asked, almost talking to himself now.

"I can see what I can do," Alice replied. "I'm pretty good at finding who I need to. I could do some digging, see what my friends on the other side of the world know."

Sam shook his head. "Good…I guess that's all we can do."

Word vomit was coming out of my throat. "Carlisle," I said, my voice sounding shakier than I intended. "You don't think her powers as a siren are affecting how I feel about her as my imprint…do you?"

Carlisle hesitate before he answered. "Unless you have felt like you did tonight when she was singing since you first met her, I don't think… just hope she's never trying to convince you into buying 12 puppies, because her power of persuasion will probably get the best of you." He joked.

My shoulders slumped in relief. Thank God. She was still my Scarlett. Nothing different, except for the fact she could help me put a vampire on his ass. Not that I would ever let her…I was with Jared on that one.

"This just makes so much sense now," Jared began, again. "She's been complaining to me about her anxieties burrowing in her throat. She kept saying her throat burnt and burnt – like she needed to get something out. It could've been because of her contact with the Cullen's at the hospital when we took dad there. Just her natural instincts coming out to protect herself."

"And she felt so much better tonight after she sang…" I trailed off.

"Exactly," Sam said. "Like she was giving into her power, and using it for what she needed to.

"So how are we going to handle this?" I asked suddenly.

"Well Paul, it's kind of up to you…do we tell her about the wolves, the imprint, or her being a siren first?"

I felt puke rising up to my throat at the thought of telling her about the imprint. That was happening no time soon.

" _Definitely_ not about the imprint."

"I agree. Let's ease her into life here and keep her away from the vamps until Alice finds out more knowledge. She doesn't need to know about our life until absolutely necessary. This will be a lot easier for her to swallow if she trusts Paul, and has him to lean on. But that relationship needs to be built first." Jare said, his tone firm.

The pack nodded in unison at this.

Now I just had to make the woman who was capable of putting any man on their knees in an instant to fall for me. What the hell kind of vendetta did the world have out for me?


	13. Chapter 13

**SCAR POV**

I kissed Paul. I kissed Paul. I freaking kissed Paul Lahote?

Stumbling out of my bed, half asleep, I stared at myself in the mirror across from my bed. My dark hair still had its waves from last night, but was disheveled nonetheless. My tank top was hanging off the side of one of my shoulders, and despite just waking up, my skin had a sort of glow to it.

This shocked me a bit, seeming that I just woke up. I stepped closer towards the mirror, analyzing my skin. It was smooth – really smooth. My eye bags had disappeared, and my lips looked fuller. Shaking my head at myself, I brushed it off. Maybe I _was_ still dreaming.

Making my way down to the kitchen for my usual ten (kidding, more like three) cups of coffee, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the pot already brewing. My eyes then met Jared's, the culprit's, who was sitting at the table scrolling down his phone.

"Morning, Jare," I said in a sing-songy voice. I was feeling unnaturally good today. Kind of like last night.

Jared seemed to grow stiff, like he was caught off guard, but then regained his normal, slouchy posture. "Hey, sis."

I grabbed my favorite Pokémon mug out of the cabinet and began pouring that dark, velvety heaven into my cup. Glancing out the window, I saw the sun was shining, so I reached over the kitchen sink and opened the window to let the fresh air in.

"So, how was last night for you?" Jared inquired, suddenly.

That question brought me back to my own mental hell: I kissed Paul. I kissed Paul. I freaking kissed Paul!

Feeling my cheeks heating up, I answered quickly. "Good. Really, really good."

Before he got the chance to press me any further, I scurried up the stairs with my coffee to my room. Turning on my favorite vinyl and opening my own bedroom window, I settled back into bed with my mug.

Taking a bit of a dramatic sigh, I burrowed myself down further into my covers. I couldn't believe I kissed Paul. Like I really fucking kissed Paul. The man that potentially could still have ties with a psycho bitch who was out for my blood. Great, Scarlett. Great.

I cringed inwardly remembering that it wasn't just some innocent, shy, or sweet peck on the lips. No, I had to go full Lana Del Rey on him and slide my fingers up his chest like he was some sugar daddy. What had gotten into me?

Racking my brains, I tried my hardest to recount everything of last evening. I wasn't going to lie and say that I wasn't in one of the best moods of my life – because I was. After singing, it was like I was an entirely new person. Just as if I had this new-found aura surrounding me.

After singing, I felt electric. I felt alive. And Paul felt like a magnet that I was slowly attracting, quite devilishly, and I knew exactly what I was doing.

I mean, I didn't even get the chance to look at any one else in the crowd to gauge their reactions to my voice. Every time my green eyes were open, they were locked to Paul's. He was a pool and I was diving straight in. And while we're on the terms of liquid, instead of me being a puddle at his feet, he was a puddle at mine.

I felt almost ashamed to admit that I knew what I was doing – seducing him, if you will. But now that I think about it, I don't know why I did that? Shit. I _am_ going crazy. Why did I do that?

I knew after the first line was out of my mouth that I had a hold on him. I noticed his jaw go slack. I saw the hazy, trance-like look in his eyes. That only fueled me more, I remember…knowing I had him there, and vulnerable to my performance.

I knew what the gently sway of my hips would do to him, the persistence eye contact, the biting of my bottom lip would do – all of it. And I did it purposely. That's why I asked him in the car what he had thought…because I already knew what he thought.

He did catch me off guard with his hesitation though. But after, his admittance to how he really felt, how I knew he felt, was the sexiest thing I had ever heard. It was like I had some she-devil in my ear whispering, taunting me to seduce him more. Like this voice was saying, " _See, you were right. You have all the power in the world – show him…"_

And then I was running my fingers across his knee, and then his thigh, and then his chest. It all kind of feels like a blur, really.

Blushing in the comforts of my room at my very own thoughts, I was confused as ever now. Thinking back at last night, I felt like I was witnessing someone else's memories in my own head. My singing had never been like that…so, I don't know…sultry, if you will.

Coming to the ultimate conclusion that it would be best if I just forgot the whole night, I pushed it to the back of my mind and shook it off as just a weird, but completely indescribable night for me. But of course, Paul had other thoughts.

"Scar," Jared yelled up the stairs. "Paul is here to see you."

I almost choked gulping down the mouth full of coffee that I had. "Shit," I grumbled. So much for forgetting that kiss. Maybe he would write it off as strange, and act like it didn't exist too?

Mug still in hand, and tank top straightened now, I trotted down the steps in my pajama shorts. Paul was momentarily distracted by something out the window, so I cleared my throat.

I didn't miss the way his eyes lingered over my exposed thighs before making their way up to my own.

"Need something?"

It was his turn to shift uncomfortably. What was he thinking?

"Go to breakfast with me?" He asked.

This made my heart flutter. Maybe he wasn't creeped out by me, now. Or maybe after last night he thought I wanted to be his mistress. Inwardly chuckling at my own stupid thoughts, I smiled at him.

"Okay," I simply replied. Then, raising an eyebrow at him, "Let me get out of these pajamas. Unless you'd rather me stay in them?"

He blushed a furious shade of red that made my heart swell, realizing he had been caught ogling. He opened his mouth to retort, but I cut him off.

"Joking," I laughed. "Give me ten."

Cussing at myself mentally as I walked up the stairs, I wanted to pull my hair out once again. What was up with this random, spurt of confidence I had that kept spewing out without my control?

I brushed out my waves and pulled on a crew neck and some jean shorts. Spending more time than I would have liked digging for my sandals in my closet, I eventually gave up and settled for my sneakers.

I then brushed my teeth and lotioned up my body, and was then down the steps. Paul was reclined back in the chair now, watching television.

"Making yourself at home, Lahote?"

He turned around and grinned. "Well, I thought I would, since there is _hardly_ what you would call hospitality offered in this house hold."

I pouted my bottom lip out and pretending like I was wiping away tears. He laughed his usual sexy laugh, hopped up, and lightly pushed me towards the door.

We walked along the road since the weather was lovely and the diner was only a short way away.

We were silent for a bit until I caught Paul glancing over at me out of the corner of his eye.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "What?"

He smirked. "Nothing, just happy you decided to brush your hair before we left the house."

I made a face at him and slapped him, playfully. "I hate you."

His voice sounded husky, and caught me off guard. "After witnessing last night, I would say quite the opposite…"

I blushed furiously and tore my gaze away from his eyes. "Yeah, about that…"

He chuckled and ruffled my hair. "I'm kidding. Just was my turn to mess with you, since you wanted to call me out earlier."

"Don't be pissy with me because I caught you looking at my sexy, tanned, toned legs. I would want to, too."

He winked at me. "I won't deny myself the simple pleasures of life."

I rolled my eyes at him and bit back a smile. "Come on, you freak. We're almost there."

We settled into a booth and ordered heaps of bacon and hash browns. I also ordered another cup of coffee.

"Didn't you already have coffee this morning?" Paul asked.

I took a long sip, staring into his eyes. I loved those eyes. "Yes, and?"

He returned my question with a half-smile. "You sure your little body can handle all that energy this early in the morning?"

I rolled my eyes at him, for the second time of the day. The boy was surely going to cause me to get them stuck at the back of my head. "You _really_ don't know me at all."

His face grew serious, and his eyes softened at me. "So, let me get to know you."

Taking me a bit by surprise, I wasn't quite sure what to say. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Hm," He started. "Favorite color?"

"Easy. Green."

"Favorite animal?"

A smile grew on my lips. "Even easier. Bear."

"Favorite day of the week?"

"Thursday. Always Thursday."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Why Thursday?"

"Because it's Friday eve, idiot. The same reason Christmas eve is always so much better than actual Christmas. It hasn't happened yet, so the excitement is still there!"

He chuckled. "How long have you been singing?"

I grinned a huge, cheesy grin without even realized it. "For as long as I can remember."

"Is that so?"

"Mhm," I answered, taking another drink of my now cold coffee. "When I lived in Portland, I used to convince the bouncers at concerts I was a part of the band's crew to get in. And once, one band was so impressed by my antics they let me sing on stage with them."

"Oh, so we've got ourselves a groupie, huh?" He replied, teasingly.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Oh, so we've got ourselves a prier, huh?"

"I don't know much about your life in Portland much, Scar."

This sentence caused my stomach to turn queasy. I didn't want him to know much about my life in Portland.

"Yeah," I mumbled, averting my eyes.

He placed his hand on top of my own. His touch was unnaturally warm. "I'd like to know, sometime, if you're up for telling me." His eyes were caring, and boring into me, gauging my reaction.

I slid my hand out from under his, and back into my lap. I felt uncomfortable. It was then, that once again, music saved me.

One of my favorite songs just came on the juke box, and my eyes grew ten sizes. "Paul!"

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Up! Now!"

I hopped out of the booth and grabbed his warm hand, once again. Leading him to the small open space by the juke box, I started swaying my hips.

Paul's eyes then doubled in size. "Oh, no, Scarlett, I don't dance…"

I smirked at him. "Oh, yes, Paul, with me, you do…"

I pulled him closer to me and started moving side to side. I couldn't help but giggle at his face. He was mortified.

Everyone in the diner was looking at us with amused looks, and also genuine smiles.

"My turn to calm you down," I whispered to him.

I pulled him closer and then spun myself out, laughing. I was in heaven.

"B-A-B-Y, baby…" I sang along, sweetly. I wasn't trying to impress anyone; I was just singing. I could see the smile form on his face and him visibly relax. He was beginning to let loose.

He let go of my hands and started goofily snapping his fingers to the beat. I busted out laughing and started shimmying.

"There you go, you big baby!" I yelled over the now, booming music. The owner of the diner had turned it up, and a few people had joined in with us now.

We laughed loudly along with the music and our absurd dancing, momentarily forgetting the moment we were in, and much to my delight, and previous conversations.

The song ended and we paid and made our way outside of the diner with smiles glued to our faces. I grabbed Paul's handed and squeezed. "What an impressive breakfast date you just gave me."

He cheesed back at me. "You mean, I, Paul Lahote, just took you, Scarlett Thatch, on a date?"

"Oh no, definitely not a date…"

"But you just said- "

"Shh," I hushed him, smirking.

He walked me back to the front porch and awkwardly said our goodbyes. I went to open the door, but he grabbed my hand, and pulled my body towards his.

Before I could protest, he placed his thumb over my lips. " _My_ turn to kiss you."

My eyes widened and my insides melted as he pressed his mouth to mine. I moved my lips against his without much thought. Kissing him felt unnaturally perfect – there was so much heat it was hard to ignore.

He broke away suddenly, and put a finger to his lips, signaling me not to speak.

"Now," He began. He started walking down the steps, swaying his hips dramatically at me in a girlish fashion, looking at me "sexily" over his shoulder. He was struggling to keep the composure on his face. I then realized he was mocking me from last night.

I blushed, of course, but laughed loudly. Flipping him off, I called, "I hate you, Lahote!"

He was in his truck by now. "In your dreams, Thatch!"

I was still laughing to myself at his antics as I walked into the house. Jared caught me with my grin still plastered on my face.

Was this boy a puddle at my feet, or was I one at his?

 **I know, nothing too exciting in this one… just thought we needed a cute little mushy filler until things get vamped up! Hope you enjoyed the lighter chap, and let me know what you think! ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**New chapter coming at you! Let me know what you think! ;) xx**

 **PAUL POV**

As soon as I pulled my truck into my driveway, I sprinted to the backyard and bursted into my wolf form. I was so thrilled; I could barely think straight.

My paws hit the soft earth as I ran at the speed of lightning to Sam's. Making it there in a solid five minutes, I quickly shifted back into my human self. Throwing on my shorts that I had somehow remembered to tie around my ankle, I ran to the porch and let myself in, as per usual.

Sam, Emily, Embry, Jake, and Quil were seated in the living room – talking about something I couldn't care less about.

"Paul! What is it?" Sam asked when he saw me, knowing I had something to spill just by the look on my face.

The others all looked at me with faces full of confusion.

"It's Scarlett! She _can_ control her powers! And I don't know how – and I don't think she does either, but she sang to me in the diner just now, and nothing happened! Nothing! I felt the same!" I exclaimed, barely getting a breath out.

Sam grinned back at me. "Really? Paul, that's great news! What happened? We need to take note of every detail we can; The differences in her when she has the effect of the siren, and when she doesn't. Everything that we can find out will help her in the long run."

I took a seat next to Emily, remembering this morning vividly. But then again, it was one of the best mornings of my life, so how could I not?

"Well, I went to her house this morning to invite her to breakfast with me. I could tell from the moment that I saw her that her mood from last night was still present. Her face seemed, I don't know, brighter? Anyway – she still had that enchanting aura around her…but that could have been the imprint, who knows. She was making jokes at me, and just seemed so sure of everything she was doing and saying. Just like she had this new sense of confidence spilling from her body."

Jake interjected here. "I wonder if that's from her singing last night, or it's just her growing comfortable with the imprint? Maybe you're bringing out that side of her?"

"Could be," Sam pondered. "But something tells me you shouldn't get used to this wave of sureness she has about herself, Paul. I wouldn't be shocked if she's on a siren high. I don't see how her anxiety could just melt away so easily."

I nodded. "I'm not, believe me. This morning she had me feeling like I was the shy one, and well, we all know that's not true."

"What I'm worried about is her getting worse, around the Cullen's. Jared mentioned this morning that they were going to visit their dad tonight…Carlisle will be there, of course. I've already spoken to him, and he is going to attempt to keep his distance for the most apart. But we've decided to run sort of a trial-and-error. Carlisle will step in the room for a short amount of time, and we'll see how she reacts. If after she returns back into her quiet, anxious slump we will know the vampires are aiding to that. Whatever it is in her is building up after she comes into contact with them, I think, and unknowingly to her - it must come out when she sings. It's her body's way of ridding them."

I sighed. "So, you think her singing is her usual self unless she comes in, or is in contact with vampires?"

"That's my guess. It makes the most sense. I'm sure there's a way she can turn it off and on, on her own. It may take her decades to figure out how, but if there are vampires near, her body is going to go into full defense mode."

"So, she's absolutely a siren," I breathed, taking all of this in. "Once she gains control, she can send any man into a trance, if she wants."

Sam nodded. "But until then, it's kind of touch and go. We'll test out the vampire theory first, and go from there. But I think us, and anyone else, hearing her voice without vampires present should be just fine, and unaffected. We'll have a meeting with the pack tonight and fill everyone in."

"What a relief," Embry said. "I felt a little weird having a hard on for Paul's girl yesterday."

That's when the room erupted into laughter and I gave Embry a nose bleed.

.

 **SCARLETT'S POV**

After Paul left, I didn't do a whole lot of anything. Jared and I planned on going to see Dad tonight, and figuring out when he would be released. The thought of him being in there still caused my heart to squeeze. I missed my dad.

Despite all of this, my weird/incredible mood lasted throughout the day. For whatever reason, I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I had no idea why, but I did.

My first guess was Paul. I couldn't get him off my damn mind. I couldn't believe how close we had grown in just a few days. I felt like a giddy school girl after this morning – and that is _so not_ me.

I wanted to relax and let whatever happened, happen. That seemed to be the most reasonable option, but also, the scariest. I couldn't get the sneaking suspicion out of my head that he was somehow still with Rachel. Or that if she found out we had "something" going on, all hell would break loose.

She was a part of whatever this little family they had going on, I mean, she was Jake's sister for crying out loud. How could I top that? Kim had spilled to me they had been off and on for years, now. What if I gave myself to him, just for him to return to her?

These were the thoughts that plagued me. I let myself sit and wallow in it for a while, and then decided to go for a run. I wasn't going to let Rachel ruin my great mood. When I wasn't up for a drink back home, it was common for me to run my worries right out of my head. Whether that took 2 miles, or 8, I just would just run.

I walked downstairs from my room, where I had been for a better part of the day, to let Jared know I was going for a jog and then we could head to the hospital. To my surprise, he was nowhere to be found. Shrugging it off, I decided he was probably off with Kim somewhere.

Walking out the back door, I decided since it was pretty outside, I would run through the woods versus the roads. I hadn't explored them yet, and plus, I always hated the thought of passerby's in their cars watching me run.

I ran through the forest for about two miles, ignoring everything and anything that was going on around me. My head was clear now, and that's all I really cared about. It was so hot out today that it was totally unnatural for La Push. My white tank top was see through now in most spots due to the amount I was sweating.

I plopped down beside a tree to catch my breath. I was so hot. _Damn_ , I thought. How could I not have brought a water?

I was cursing inwardly at myself with my head leaned up against the tree trunk with one headphone out of my ear, hanging across my chest. Then I heard something behind me rustle.

Hopping up immediately, it then hit me how insanely stupid I am. I went on a run in woods that I am unfamiliar with, I was God knows how far into it, I didn't tell anyone where I was going, and oh yeah – fucking bears.

Almost positive in my head I was going to be a bear's lunch, I began taking steps backwards. I was looking around wildly, unable to spot my predator. My heart dropped when I saw a glimpse of dark brown fur. And it wasn't a bear – it was a wolf. A wolf that was big enough to _eat_ my imaginary bear. I raised my hands to the creature, as if trying to communicate that I was harmless. As if it didn't already know that…

It took a step towards me, and I took a step back. Mother of God.

Before I could make any movements, it whipped its head around the other way, as if someone had called for it like a dog. It glanced once at me, and then darted in the opposite direction.

I stood there with my mouth open, like an idiot, staring after it. What the hell had just happened? Before I could think any further, there was rustling behind me. Spinning around, expecting the absolute worst, my eyes met deep brown ones.

Emerging from behind a tree, Seth popped his head out. He looked just as surprised to see me as I was him.

"Seth," I said, confused. "What are you doing here? You about gave me a heart attack, you little shit!"

His face grew serious. "What the hell are you doing out here, Scar?"

"I was running…and I just ran into a fucking wolf! We have to get out of here, now!"

He didn't look phased by this, his eyes darting all over our surroundings. When he realized I was waiting on his reaction, he responded. "Yeah, I know. They're crawling all over these woods. I can't believe Jared hasn't told you," Nodding his head in another direction, he reached for my hand. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Practically dragging me out of the forest by my hand, I jerked mine away from his heated grip. "Hello? Are we going to talk about this? What were you even doing out here?"

He stopped and glared at me, grabbed my hand again, and kept walking. Still looking ahead, he finally answered. "I was," He paused. "Hiking."

Cocking an eyebrow at the back of his head, I kept quiet. It was strange to see Seth so unnerved and moody. What was his deal?

Almost sensing my aversion to his mood, he stopped suddenly. Facing me, his features softened. "Look, I'm sorry," He started. "I don't mean to be an ass. Just the thought of you getting hurt…it's one I don't like to picture."

It was my turn for my features to soften. "It's okay," I answered, softly. It shocked me how much these boys – this family, cared for me when they barely knew me.

He gave me a tiny smile and squeezed my hand, leading me back through the woods and back to my house.

When we entered my backyard, Seth mumbled to me, "Incoming."

My confusion was soon cleared up when I saw the back door fly open and Jared and Paul busted through it, looking as ominous as the twins off The Shining.

"Scarlett! Care to tell me _what the hell_ you were doing in the woods?" Jared seethed. Dude had some serious anger problems.

Seth moved in front of me defensively, putting his hands up in front of him. A grumble came from Paul's chest as he watched.

"Get out of the way, Seth." Jared glared.

"Listen, she's fine," He answered, his voice quieter than he intended.

"Fine?" Jared yelled. "Scarlett, you can't go out there!"

This time, it was me that pushed Seth out of the way. "Oh, I'm sorry Jared, the poor little puppy got off your leash when you left the house?"

"You're lucky Seth found you! That wolf could have hurt you – or worse, killed you! Anything out there could have!"

"Scarlett, he's right. You can't just go wandering out there. It's not safe." Paul intervened, his glare intense. I felt so small under his disapproving eyes.

Choosing to ignore him, I turned back to face Jared. "Calm the hell down," I said, pushing past him and heading towards the back door. "I'm fine. And how'd you know there was a wolf out there, anyway?"

I felt his hand on my shoulder. Jared's voice was low in my ear. "As I've told you a hundred times now, we just got you back. I can't lose you, again."

Noting that he ignored my question but choosing to ignore it, I looked at Seth and Paul. "Show's over, boys."

And with that, I stormed in the back door and slammed it shut.

.

Not even an hour left, I was in the backseat of the car with Jared and Paul up front, on the way to see Dad. Despite my angry order, Paul didn't go home. He hadn't spoken to me since my ass ripping from Jared, well aware of my sour mood, but I didn't miss him stealing glances at me in the rearview mirror.

I can't believe six hours ago I was making out with him, and now I was in the back of a car avoiding his heavy looks.

Jare and Paul were also carrying on as usual, laughing and talking about their usual dumb shit. I tuned them out.

We finally arrived to the hospital, and made our way to the third floor to see Dad. Paul gave me a small smile in the elevator, and when we got off, claimed he was going to find a bathroom.

Great. What a set up if I've ever seen one…

Just as I predicted, before we entered Dad's room, Jared pulled me to the side. It's impossible for the little shit head to stay mad at me.

"I'm sorry for overreacting, Scar."

"I'm not going to say it's okay," I began. "Because you acted like a fool. And you treated me like a child."

He nodded, regret evident in his face. "I just don't want you hurt, too."

Knowing he was referring to Dad, I lowered my gaze to my feet. "I'm sorry for worrying you. I know now not to go wandering around in the big, bad woods. I don't want to get eaten up."

He chuckled and squeezed my shoulder. "It's not the wolves I'm worried about. They keep to themselves, for the most parts. It's just the unknown, out there…" He trailed off.

Before I had the chance to inquire further, Paul made his appearance.

"You crybabies finished pouting at each other now?" He asked with a sly grin.

"Oh, I don't want to hear it from you, Dad #3!" I told him, an eyebrow raised. "You came flying out of that door right behind Dad #2!" I giggled, nodding my head at Jared.

Paul narrowed his eyes at me and Jared laughed.

Everything was finally good between the three of us, and my good mood had returned.

That is – until we opened the door to my dad's room. Sam was in there, sitting, visiting him.

So was Dr. Cullen. He looked at me, his gentle smile stretching across his pale face.

My good mood wasn't the only thing that had returned.

So had that fucking burning sensation in my throat.


End file.
